Red Light
by Nature9000
Summary: Families and friendships torn apart, trusts tarnished, feelings of betrayal surround everybody, and respect destroyed. Sam and Carly lose it all. With only one friend left in the world, can Sam ever repair the bonds that her actions have shattered?
1. Shock and Disbelief

Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now. This is going to be very drama filled, there will be tragedy, there will be sorrow, there will be so much that goes into this. If you give this a chance, you_ will_ enjoy this. This will be like no other fanfiction you've seen, at least by me. Now the title was inspired by the song "Roxanne" by The Police (or better yet, Moulin Rouge), listen to the song and you will understand perfectly! It begins.

A/N: Yes, this makes everybody 18, and it begins in the month of May.

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><p>Chapter 1 (Shock and Disbelief)<p>

Freddie and Melanie were walking home from their date, enjoying the scenery and listening to the sounds of the birds chirping. They had spent the majority of their day at the park down the street from Bushwell Plaza, so 'home' was Freddie's apartment. He was planning to move out, like Jonah and Valerie had done, and get his own place, but it would be a while before he did that. Jonah and Valerie had been granted the right by their parents to room together near the college they were going to, on the trust that the two were not having sex. They upheld that pretty well. Melanie rested her head gently on Freddie's shoulder and smiled pleasantly as she tightened her fingers around his hand. Her beautiful aroma wafted into his nostrils and he lightly kissed her head.

They had been dating for three years, and were very much in love. They had a great example of how a true loving relationship should be through Jonah and Valerie, along with Melanie's parents. Of course, in the recent year, their friend Carly had a boyfriend as well, but their relationship didn't seem all that healthy for some reason. Greg Madison rubbed Freddie the wrong way, but Spencer seemed to trust him, Carly loved him, at least that's what she said. Sam got along with him too, and she was probably the only one in the whole gang that was still single. "Hey Freddie?"

"Yeah Mel?" Melanie lifted her head up as they made their way in front of the doors of the Bushwell Plaza. She took his hands and turned to gaze into his eyes.

"Promise me something." He slowly nodded and smiled as she leaned up and gently pecked his lips. "That if you and I ever have any fights, you will at least be understanding of my points." He pursed his lips together and nodded once more. Why would she think he wouldn't? "I heard Sam and Carly arguing with Greg the other day. I don't know what about, but they seemed adamant about something they didn't want him doing…promise me you won't be like he was and you'll listen to my points." His face softened and he gently kissed her lips, smiling into her eyes.

"I promise. Now let's go inside, iCarly's starting any minute now and I don't want to be late. Gibby and the girls depend on me to shoot the webshow, you know."

"Yeah." The two gazed into each other's eyes for a minute before Lewbert opened up the doors and shouted at them for just standing in the way of the doors. The happy couple laughed and ran inside, accidently brushing Lewbert and pushing him to the side. They looked back apologetically as they stepped in front of the elevator. "Sorry Lewbert!"

Within five minutes, they were in Carly's apartment where Spencer was constructing a sculpture of Greg. Greg had short brown hair with slight curls, deep set blue eyes, a light complexion, and a very slight muscular tone that paled in comparison to Freddie and Jonah. Greg was positioned with one arm over his chest and fist curled into a ball, his head tilted into the air and a smirk on his face, his left hand hung at his side while his legs were positioned in a power walk form. "Don't…move…a muscle," Spencer ordered the moment Freddie and Melanie walked in. He didn't want his model to break the pose. Greg chuckled and held his pose as Carly peered over from the kitchen. She was standing next to Sasha, Spencer's fiancé, laughing at a joke she said. She waved at the couple.

"Freddie, Melanie, you made it! Gibby and Sam are right upstairs, if you want to go chat with them. Jonah and Valerie came over a bit ago because they wanted to watch today's iCarly in person." Freddie grinned and began making his way up the stairs. Normally he'd stop and chat, but today he just didn't feel like it. Greg had approached him with something earlier in the day that he had not felt too comfortable with, so right now he was not willing to stay in the same room with him. Melanie met Greg's eyes and looked away, an uncomfortable sensation filled her stomach as she quickly followed Freddie. Greg had approached her earlier and she'd not told Freddie yet.

Upstairs, Sam and Valerie were seated in a corner, looking over a cookbook. Gibby was messing around with the electrical equipment while Jonah was sitting in the car chairs, taking a short nap. "Oh Sam, what do you think about this cookie recipe?" Valerie flipped through the pages to a recipe for loaded chocolate chip cookies, large sized. Sam's mouth formed a circle and she quickly licked her lips.

"Wow, that is beautiful!" Valerie laughed and nodded her head with a smile. She and Sam had struck up a friendship years ago. It was an uncanny friendship at the time, but Valerie needed a friend who would be there for her and stick up for her when times got rough. At the time, Jonah and Valerie had not begun dating and Valerie had been picked on a lot for what she had done to Freddie, made to never forget her mistake. Sam was the one that helped her out of that rut and kept people from messing with her. Once she met Jonah, though, it was even more cemented that people stopped picking on her. He let _no one_ hurt her. She thought back to the memory and smiled at Sam once more. Sam lifted her eyes and glanced at her. "What's on your mind, Val?"

"I just…I don't know if I've ever told you, but thanks for being my friend when I needed one. You know, if I ever can pay you back, I will." Sam smiled and her heart lifted up. She gave Valerie a tight hug and looked into her eyes, nodding her approval.

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever need you for anything." The girls turned their gaze back to the cookbook and Sam let out a slow sigh. She may really need Valerie one day, she could just feel in her gut that Valerie may become something more to her one day. She lifted her eyes and glanced over to Jonah, chuckling nervously. "You know, you may want to tell your boyfriend not to sleep there…He might not like it." Valerie blinked and lifted her eyes up slowly, she raised an eyebrow and glanced over.

"Why?" Chuckling to herself, Sam shook her head and Jonah's eyes shot open. He'd heard the comment and was already starting to think about the reasons Sam wouldn't want him in the chairs. Just as he did, his foot brushed against something round and hard down at the edge of the car. He moved his eyes down and raised an eyebrow, pulling his foot back. His heartbeat increased as he gazed upon the mysterious object. Sam's eyebrows rose and Valerie slowly stood up.

"What the fuck is _that?_" Whatever it was, Jonah's foot hit some button on it that started it up. Just then, Freddie and Melanie walked in through the doors, in time to see Jonah hurtle himself out of the car seats. He dusted his shirt off and turned towards Freddie. "I'm going to ignore that for the moment…Hey Freddie, how was your date?" Melanie grinned as Freddie and Jonah exchanged high fives.

"It was great, man."

"Glad for it. So, is today's iCarly really going to be shorter than usual?"

"Yeah, Sam and Carly are going to the movies with Greg and some other guy, I think." Jonah's eyebrows lifted briefly as Freddie moved over to the camera. Melanie made her way over to her sister and Valerie, folded her arms over and smiled at Sam.

"Sis, why don't you get a boyfriend? You should."

"I don't want to. Besides, what would I do with a boyfriend?" Sam leaned against the wall and half smiled at her sister. Her heart sank a bit and her shoulders rose up. Melanie closed her eyes and sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"You know, a guy can help you out with certain things. Like earlier with Freddie…" Sam raised an eyebrow as Melanie shifted her eyes to the side, recalling something that happened to her in the park a few hours prior. Some random guy whistled at her and made some weird sexual gesture with his hips, Freddie nearly pummeled the guy, but he kept Melanie from getting too worked up over it. "There were a few catcalls my way earlier…Freddie kept me sane."

"What?" Sam's eyebrows rose sharply and quickly turned her eyes to the car seat. She was beginning to hear the object, as it was banging against the metal. "Excuse me…" She quickly hurried over and reached in, flicking the button off, then looked back to Melanie with a frown. "So somebody was hitting on you?"

"Yeah, it was so weird too…I didn't even _know_ the guy!" Melanie felt a sudden hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Carly smiling at her.

"I'm sure it was nothing Melanie. Don't worry about it and enjoy iCarly, okay?" Melanie's heart beat hard for a minute, then relaxed. She didn't want to think about that memory, and Carly was right, she just needed to enjoy iCarly. What happened earlier wasn't important at all. It was nothing.

"You're right, I'll do that."

As everyone started to get in places, Valerie began making her way to the car seats, but Jonah quickly grabbed her out of the way. He didn't want to tell her what it was he saw, though, because she was a sweet Christian girl and he didn't want to offend or worry her. With how she was, she would begin to really worry, and that wouldn't be good.

Greg entered the room halfway through iCarly and stepped behind Freddie. Jonah and Valerie were hanging on the other side of the room with Melanie while Gibby was awaiting his cue to enter the scene. Freddie glanced at Greg, who winked at him, possibly about the idea he had earlier. He groaned inwardly and looked back to the girls.

When it was all over, Carly squealed for joy and ran off with Greg and Sam, they were overly excited to be going to the movies. Melanie had gone downstairs with Jonah and Valerie while Freddie and Gibby hung out upstairs and went though some of the reviews. Freddie was reading them out loud while Gibby rested on a bean bag chair and through a small tennis ball into the air. Freddie started reading one then stopped abruptly. "What the hell?" His body became tense and Gibby sat up, looking at Freddie with concern.

"What's going on?"

"This review…I don't understand it." Gibby grunted and pushed himself up. He hurried over to Freddie and looked at the screen. Seeing the review in question, his jaw fell and his eyes grew wide in shock.

"Whoa. What the fuck?"

_"Why don't you show your tits here?"_

"Gibby, who the fuck would write that about the girls?"

"I don't know dude, but is there a way to delete it?" Freddie pressed his lips together and moved his eyes around the screen, he saw no way to delete the review. It was out there, and it would probably not go over well if anybody read it. Gibby's phone alarm went off and he quickly checked it. Freddie glanced over as the boy groaned sharply. "Man! I have to go, grandpa just drove his car into a pole…" Gibby ran to the door and took a deep breath.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine, but the car's busted. I have to go pick him up and call a tow." Freddie slowly nodded as Gibby ran down the hallway. Melanie sidestepped him in the middle of the hall and glanced at him momentarily before walking into the studio.

"Where's he going in such a hurry?"

"His grandpa drove the car into a pole." Melanie winced slightly and looked back to the door.

"Is he okay?" Freddie nodded and continued his nervous plight, searching for a way to delete that review. Melanie saw how tense he was and moved behind him, rubbing his shoulders. "Are you okay? You're so tense…"

"Yeah…" He slowly breathed through his nose as Melanie read the reviews before he could scroll away in time. Her jaw fell and she quickly shook her head, unsure if she just read what she thought. Freddie winced as she quickly pulled a chair next to him.

"What is that all about?"

"I don't know. I'm actually starting to wonder if it has to do with Greg in any way…" Melanie raised her eyebrows as the sickening feeling entered her stomach once more. Freddie cracked his neck and sighed. "He was trying to get me to check out this porn site so I can see what it's like…in case I wanted to join the industry or whatever…" He was so nonchalant, as he wasn't interested in it in the slightest, but he didn't think how that would affect Melanie. She paled visibly as the nausea washed over her.

"Y-You too?" Freddie's heart froze and he quickly looked over at Melanie who had her eyes shut. She seemed rather calm on the outside, but inside she was flaring up. "He came to me earlier about a porn site. For some reason he ran the idea by Carly and Sam, and they seemed very adamant _against_ it. I don't think they would like the idea of the porn industry anyway…I wonder if Carly knows that her boyfriend's like that." Freddie looked back at the screen, trying to push away the anger rising up in him. How dare Greg suggest something like that to Melanie! It was disrespectful as it was ignorant.

"Yeah, I'm tempted to just see the site. Prick says every couple watches the junk."

"So do it." She spoke very bluntly, very direct. Freddie was stunned. She placed her hand on the mouse and sighed as she moved the keyboard over in a very nonchalant motion. She didn't want to see any porn, she hated the idea of it, but something was telling her to look. "What did he say the site was?"

"A-Are you serious?"

"Just humor him, I guess. I don't like the idea, but just…I don't know, something's there…" Freddie moaned and clenched his eyes shut. Melanie placed her hand on his and smiled slightly. "Porn is disgusting, so I just want to see why he seems so adamant about it. Don't you?"

"I guess…" Melanie groaned at the domain name and typed it in the address bar. She wasn't planning to look at anything, truthfully.

"No more than one video, okay?" Freddie nodded his agreement and Melanie slowly glanced over her shoulder, hoping nobody would walk in on them. "Choose one and fast, Freddie."

"Okay…how about…" He skimmed the links on the page with growing disgust. Each of them were derogatory, disgusting, filthy, and greatly disturbing. "Who the shit would watch these, much less participate?" Melanie shrugged as Freddie's eyes fell upon a link that seemed less troublesome than the one. "How about this one…Golden Samantha plays with a silver bullet and a hairy man for money…"

"Hmm." Melanie's eyes moved to the link and she hovered the mouse over it. She wasn't too sure if she wanted to click it, something inside of her was telling her not to, but there was also the feeling in her gut that was telling her she _had_ to. "I'm afraid to click it, Freddie…"

"Then don't. Don't click it and leave the site, right?" She closed her eyes tightly and her index finger began shaking erratically.

"As much as I would like to, there's just something…I can't explain it."

"Whatever you do, I'm right here with you, Mel." He smiled at her and she smiled back, kissed him on the cheek and turned her attention back to the screen. She took a deep breath and stared at the link.

"Okay, here goes." She clicked the link and it opened up two tabs, one was a sexual profile of the porn actress, Samantha Golden, and the other was of the video itself. Freddie and Sam groaned as the first thing they saw was the actress pushing a silver dildo inside of her, her feet were on the hood of a yellow car. Melanie's eyes narrowed and her eyebrow rose.

"Wait a minute…that car, that girl's voice…"

"What?" Freddie tore his gaze away as Melanie looked to the car seats and back to the computer. She recalled the vivid memory of Sam reaching in the car to turn off whatever was making a buzzing sound. Could it be? Her eyes widened and her heart started to pound.

"Oh my god, I think that's _Sam!"_

"What?" The statement hit Freddie like a ton of bricks. He chuckled nervously and slowly shook his head. That didn't seem right, it didn't seem right at all. "Sam? A porn star? No…"

"Freddie…" Her voice lowered to a harsh whimper as she watched the screen, paling whiter than white out. Her body was frozen solid and her heartbeat was the only thing heard. "Look at the video…"

"I'm telling you, Mel. Sam is-" He looked back at the screen and his eyes widened in shock at what he was seeing now of the ten minute long video. Sam was now in full view, kissing someone they didn't know. She was in the nude, as was this man. "…A porn star…" In the background was another moaning sound. While hard to see, in the corner of the screen was Carly and Greg on the equipment table. Melanie's hand cupped her lips and tears began to break her eyes as the bile threatened her throat. Freddie saw Carly and Greg, shouted with disgust and nearly fell back in the chair trying to back away from the table. "Fuck! I don't believe this!"

"Freddie, my sister…that's my sister…" Freddie growled and quickly reached over, stopping the video and closing his eyes tightly. He felt betrayed. How could Carly and Sam do this? How could they participate in this! "That's my sister…" Melanie whimpered and started shaking her head. It made no sense to her. How could Sam do this to her family? How could she do this to herself? _Why_ would she do this? Thinking fast, and trying to remain strong for Melanie, Freddie clicked over to the profile of _Samantha Golden_ as she was called and saw a 'live chat' button that was flashing.

"Isn't she supposed to be at the movies?" Melanie slowly began to come to and started gagging. Thinking fast, her boyfriend grabbed the trash bucket and held it in front of her. She placed her hands on her stomach, and with a loud moan, she began to vomit. After a minute of this, Freddie set the bucket down and Melanie stared at the screen, still trying to overcome her shock. Her heart was still pounding, albeit faster now.

"Click it, Freddie…" He frowned as he did what she said and clicked the live chat button. It opened a pop up which opened a webcam image of Sam sitting cross legged on a blue and green bed. Melanie gasped and quickly dialed her mother. She wasn't sure if she should tell their parents about this, but they had to know. Their father, Dave, was at work, so it would just be Pam. When she answered, Melanie was frantic. "Mom! Sam's not at the movies…"

"What do you mean she's not at the movies?"

"Mom, I…" Melanie turned her eyes to the screen to see Sam laughing and talking to random users who were viewing the webcam. She was sitting with two other guys. Carly and Greg weren't there.

"I don't do multiple guys at once, j-dawg. Carlotta Bush does, gladly, but I'm just not that much of a risk taker. I will kiss them though…" She laughed and started to passionately kiss the strangers. Melanie choked and she quickly reached for the bucket, afraid she might vomit again, but she stopped and looked at her sister one more time. Sam was wearing a lacy red lingerie, which barely covered up her nipples and her vagina. Melanie whimpered and closed her eyes, it was too much to bear for her. Too much pain. Sam pulled back and looked at the users who were cheering her on and asking her questions. She squinted her eyes slightly and smiled. "Carlotta and her boyfriend stepped out for a minute, they'll be back in…maybe ten or fifteen minutes."

"Mommy, you're not going to…" Even she couldn't believe it, and she was having a harder time understanding it. "Why would she put herself out there like that?" She didn't mean to say it out loud, but it slipped. Pam was confused and concerned for her daughter, both of them. She was sure there was nothing to worry about, but Melanie didn't often get like this unless something really bad was going on.

"Baby? Are you and your sister okay? What do you mean 'put herself out', Melanie?"

"x-load dot com, look up…Samantha Golden…" The mother blinked for a moment, trying to register the words. It sounded like her daughter just asked her to go to a porn site, at least she recognized that from one of her husband's reports. He said there were a lot reports of underage girls and boys on that site and he was going to have some agents look into it.

"What? Why would you ask me to do something like that?"

"Just do it mommy…I'll talk later…" She flicked off the phone and stared at her sister on the screen, who was no flashing her breasts and showing them off. Disbelief and anger surged through her veins and Freddie watched his girlfriend with growing concern. Melanie quickly grabbed the mouse and licked the 'name' box. Freddie's eyes widened as Melanie typed in how she wanted the 'guest' name to appear and came up as Mel-P.

"Melanie, what are you doing?"

"Relax Freddie, I just…I have questions, okay?" Freddie understood that, he had questions too. How long had Sam been at this? Why would she do this? What purpose did it serve? Melanie narrowed her eyes, the war was on, and she was going in guns blazing. Her fingers moved at such a rapid pace.

_Samantha, turn off the webcam now and go home!_

Freddie glanced at the door, hoping nobody would enter. He'd just have to keep watch while Melanie did this. Sam raised an eyebrow and moved her finger along her screen. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Really? Mel-P, who are you? Some jealous girlfriend or something? Your boyfriend watching too much porn?" Melanie gasped at the scornful words coming from her sister's mouth. Freddie coughed and his eyes widened in surprise. Did Sam really just say that? How could she? Melanie was furious!

_No you didn't! I'm telling you this for your own good, go home now! Your mother is probably worried sick!"_

Sam read the comments and laughed. Some of the users in the chat room were beginning to protest and call Melanie all sorts of names, telling her to go away. Melanie ignored them the best she could, right now, her focus was on Sam. "My mother can cry me a river for all I care." Freddie's jaw dropped and Melanie felt her face flush.

_Sam! I swear to god…why are you doing this? What purpose does porn serve to you?_

Sam scoffed at the question and smiled vaguely. "What's it to you, really? Carlotta and her boyfriend got started because they wanted the fame aspect of having a sex film and they convinced me to get started because I needed money…"

_So you're selling your body? Sam…I look up to you! Your school looks up to you, your friends care about you, your family loves you…why? Why would you do this? _ Melanie was beginning to cry, her tears stung her cheeks. Freddie felt her pain while also feeling the bile rising up in his throat.

Sam rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, becoming more irritated by the minute. Users were starting to leave the room as well, seeing as how this was definitely not what they had gone there for. "Great, you're making me lose my viewers!" Melanie narrowed her eyes and growled, typing back furiously.

_Good!_

"Damn it! Look, I don't know who you think you are, if you're some crazy stalker or whatever, or maybe you're a religious person trying to convert me, but spare me the bullshit." Melanie's face darkened and she slowly closed her eyes.

_Sam, really? Your best friend is a Christian!_

At that, Sam's face softened and her demeanor shifted slightly. Valerie was really the one that meant the most to her, she could never intentionally hurt her. She didn't meant to insult Christians as a whole, and definitely not insult Valerie. After a minute, her expression changed to shock and anger, she was starting to become a bit nervous about how this random person knew so much about her. "How the _hell_ would you know that? And don't you dare bring her into this! Who are you?" With that, Melanie couldn't hold it in anymore. Freddie frowned and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. He knew she had to do what she had to do.

_Sam…I'm your sister, Melanie, and I think you need to come home. Now. You have a lot of explaining to do…I told mom._

Almost instantly, Sam's face went white as a bed sheet. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and her body froze up. The men that were next to her, rubbing her arms, quickly backed away. The rest of the viewers in the chat room logged out and Sam's phone began ringing, the ring tone was the tune she selected for her mother. She was too stunned to move, too scared to pick up that phone. She merely sat there, staring at the camera, looking as much like a ghost as she felt she would become if she wasn't careful with her family.

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><p>Thus begins the very dramatic story. I'm doing my best on all my stories, but with school over now and summer beginning, you should see updates for each of them, including this one. Please be serious when you read this, I mean it is a mature and serious story, it isn't meant to make humor of anything. There is going to be real drama, real feeling going on in here. As you can see towards the end, relationships really will be near destroyed. It can only get worse from here. So you know, Nevel will make a brief appearance, but what he does while with good intentions but accidently does something that sets off a chain reaction that may destroy Sam and Carly here. This begins the downward spiral, where everything spins out of control. Read on and enjoy this, again, a story like you've never before seen!<p> 


	2. A Parent's Emotions

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

A/N: Okay this takes place around the same time as the live chat in the prior chapter.

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><p>Chapter 2 (A Parent's Emotions)<p>

"Melanie?" Pam felt her heart jerk to her throat as she pulled the phone from her ear. What had Melanie been trying to tell her? She pressed her lips together and lowered her hand, brushing her fingertips on the small oak end table. She wondered if she should wait for Dave to come home, or if she should contact him, but he had a stressful enough job, she didn't feel right to bother him.

Making her way to her computer, she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to look up that porn site, or the name of that porn star Melanie mentioned. Thinking fast, she raised her eyebrow and gripped the computer chair firmly with one hand. "Why would Melanie be looking at porn?" The pain in her daughter's voice caused enough worry for her, she simply had to know what was wrong with her babies. Melanie didn't need to be looking at porn, something like that could corrupt her innocent heart. She always wanted to protect her children from things like that, so the thought that Sam might be involved in the lifestyle was unfathomable. Yet, it was the thought that crossed her mind when Melanie's frantic tone rang into her ears. She shook it off as an impossibility.

She straightened herself and sat in the brown computer chair, gently placed her hand upon the mouse and opened the web browser. Her heart began to pound and sweat beads started to form at her forehead. Her brow furrowed and she clicked on the address bar. What was this feeling inside of her? Her stomach was churning and she was starting to feel a nauseating feeling crawling up inside of her.

_"Samantha Golden…" _She played the starlet's name in her head over and over again. Could it be that Sam was this Golden person? No, it couldn't be. She shook her head rapidly and typed the address in the search bar. The site popped up, and she turned her eyes away for a split second. It had a black background with yellow links crawling down the middle. The sides of the screen were of various nude women in various positions.

"What girl would degrade themselves like this?" She turned her eyes to the screen, trying to stomach the site. She could never understand how women put themselves out here on sites like these, for the entire world to see. She scanned the site rapidly with her eyes, somehow managing to find the search bar. She clicked it and moved her hands to the keys, stopping for a split second, hovering her fingertips over the keyboard as her heart started to pulse. "No…my baby wouldn't…she knows better, I raised her better…"

Her daughter didn't have any reason to go into the porn industry, not in Sam's mind. She had a huge and loving family, they always gathered on holidays and would always have various exciting activities. Sam had five aunts and five uncles, two sets of loving grandparents, a happy household, there was no _way_ she'd throw that all away! Sure, one of her aunts died several years ago, the whole family was depressed about that, but that wasn't a reason to go into the porn industry, was it?

Pam chuckled to herself when she thought about how unique her family was. She was the third youngest of seven children, each had a name that began with one letter of their mother's name, Juniper. The girls were as such: Janet Lewis, Umika Daniels, the one who was adopted, Nancy Baker, Isabel Patillo, Pamela Puckett, Erica Rogers, and Rebecca Daniels, who had never married. Rebecca passed away in 2004 in a terrible car accident, colliding head on with a drag racer. When Pam met Dave, he was stunned to see a family so large, especially when he only had one sibling, his sister Maggie. Isabel had only been seventeen when their son, Gregory Patillo was born, he was one of the few relatives that hadn't gotten in trouble with the law at some point of time, and had a music degree, playing the flute almost perfectly. He was born in 1977, the oldest of Sam's cousins.

Pam clicked the enter button absently, still thinking about her family. Most of the relatives that had been in trouble with the law were not in trouble for anything serious, and it was only a few of Sam's uncles. Their reasons were for things such as drunken driving, getting into fights with people, not necessarily at brawls. The uncles were _deathly protective_ of their family, and anyone that insulted their relatives, they would beat up. Carmine Patillo was the worst for it, but he wasn't in the law, he was just a part of the Italian Mafia. Nobody spoke of it, though, but he wouldn't hurt his family. Ever. Everyone was _very_ loving of one another. Another point she recalled, since the family was so large, she and her sisters had made a pact on just having one child each. Though, it was great when she had twins, everyone rejoiced then, it made her the only one to have two children. In fact, everyone was supposed to be having a get together next weekend, they were all looking forward to it.

Her thought process was interrupted when the screen showed off several links with thumbnails next to them. She gasped softly when she gazed at the first image. Her hand cupped her mouth as her eyes danced over the picture and her throat burned with the bile. Her heart grew in intensity and she felt as though she were about to have a heart attack. The first image was of her daughter, involved in what looked like bondage. Her hand hit her chest and she quickly shook her head. "Please…please let that not be what I think it is…no…"

With a shaky hand, she clicked the video and it began playing. It was a twenty minute long shot. Pam gasped as she watched a man, a total stranger, walk up to her daughter and kiss her roughly. What broke her was that Sam was _kissing back_. Her eyes stung with tears that drenched her cheeks and soiled her shoulders. Shaking her head rapidly and clenching her chest, she screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her life.

She took a deep breath and as the video played, she continued to watch with growing anxiety. She couldn't bear to watch and kept turning away, but turning back, praying that it wasn't her daughter that she was seeing. She knew well enough not to lie to herself, but she didn't want to believe what was right there. She sobbed and placed her other hand to her chest, clenching her eyes shut and shaking. "Get your hands off her…please, stop touching my daughter…" Whenever Sam moaned, Pam screamed. What had she done wrong? Where had she gone wrong? _"I-I thought I raised her better. I thought she was happy. Why would she…"_

Ten minutes in and she could see a white fluid dripping down Sam's leg. Her eyes widened and she instantly turned off the video, unable to see any more. She held her stomach and tried hard to fight the burning sensation inside, but she couldn't. She tore herself from the chair, knocking it to the ground and broke for the restroom, making it to the toilet in time.

She gripped the toilet edge firmly with her hands and fell to her knees, sobbing hysterically. Slowly she curled into a ball on the ground. "My baby…my baby…my baby…" She shook her head rapidly, trying unsuccessfully to quiet the panic attack she was falling into.

"Pam?" A voice called out. Pam's eyes widened, recognizing her oldest sister, Janet's voice. She'd forgotten that Janet was coming over to help cook a chicken. Pam clenched her eyes shut and sobbed louder. She was going to be so proud of that chicken, Sam and Melanie would love it, it was going to be the perfect dinner: Lemon Pepper chicken with a side of rice and macaroni. "Pam, where are y-oh my god!" Janet saw it, Pam forgot to close out of the window. She must have seen the video. "Pam, now listen sis, where are you? Don't do anything drastic…"

"I'm in the bathroom…" She could barely talk, she could barely breathe. Hell, her vision was blinded by the tears. She could only feel when her sister rushed into the bathroom and knelt beside her. She was glad Janet was here, glad that she just lived a few blocks away and she could be here. Janet helped her to sit up and started wiping her eyes with a rag she grabbed from the sink. Thinking fast, she stood and grabbed one of the Dixie cups, filled it with water, and brought the cup to Pam's mouth.

"Here, take a deep breath and drink some of this, okay." Pam slowly nodded as Janet tipped the cup upwards. She felt the cool liquid beckoning her lips and parted them, letting the water enter onto her tongue and travel down her throat. It soothed the burning in her mouth, and seemed to have a calming effect. After a minute, Janet placed the cup back on the edge of the sink and hugged her sister. Pam sobbed lightly on her shoulder and clenched her eyes shut.

"Does my daughter hate me, Jan? Did I do something wrong to her? Did I treat her poorly? Did I screw up? Your daughter may be a tattoo artist, but she would never do…do…"

"I know Pammy. I don't think she hates you, and you've done nothing wrong…where is she now?" Pam sniffed and slowly shook her head, unsure. Sam said she was at the movies, but what if she wasn't? If she lied about that, if she lied about what she'd been doing, how many lies were told? What truth _was _there? Were there any truths? Did she really know her daughter at _all_?

"She said she was at the movies, but I don't know…"

"Okay, so let's call her." Pam swallowed hard, feeling the bile threatening to rise up again. She slowly pulled her phone from her jean pocket and started to dial, but her hands were shaking far too much for a successful dial. She closed her eyes and whimpered, her body shook again.

"We…we need to make the chicken. My babies need food. We need-" Janet placed her hand upon her sister's hand and smiled slightly. Pam looked into her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn't do it, she couldn't call Sam. "Will you call her for me? I…I don't know what to say…"

"Gladly, I bet she'll be happy to hear from her favorite aunt." Pam smiled warily as Janet took the phone and dialed her niece's number. She watched her older sister anxiously as her right hand fiddled with her collar. "It's ringing…" Ringing? Pam knew her daughter well enough to know that Sam always turned her phone off when she went to the movies, she _never_ forgot that. After a few more rings, it went to voicemail. Janet frowned and Pam's eyes fell downwards. Janet straightened herself up and cleared her throat. "Sam? This is your Aunt Janet. Your mother needs you right now, so if you're not at the movies…please come home." She smiled slightly and stood up, helping Pam to her feet. "We could really use your help with the chicken, seeing as how you're learning so much from Valerie as far as cooking goes. So give us a call, Pam is worried sick about you. Love you Sammy, bye…" She hung up the phone and held Pam's arm to keep hear steady.

"You couldn't get a hold of her?"

"No, would you like me to call Dave?"

"No, I don't want to bother him at work…" Pam's heart jumped, she wanted her husband there right now. She _needed_ him, and Janet could see that.

"Pamela, I know you too well. You need him, don't you." They walked out into the living room and Pam fell onto the couch. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what she wanted. Janet moved over to the computer and stared at the screen. She couldn't believe Sam would do such an incorrigible act. It was one thing to have sex early on, Isabel made that mistake and was pregnant at seventeen, but to have sex and put yourself out on the internet for the world to see was a whole other ballgame. _"This site…Jesus…"_

"Am I a bad mother?"

"No." She looked back at Pam, seeing her weeping into her hands. It broke her heart. No mother should ever have to deal with this. Her eyes trailed to the phone in her hands and she let out a small sigh. Work or no work, she was going to take care of her sister and her sister needed her man with her.

Lieutenant David Puckett, sat in his office, tapping his desk with worry. Janet had just called him, asking him if he could leave work a bit early, that his wife needed him. She'd informed him that he may want to take a look at the porn site that he was investigating and kept putting off for other, more important cases.

Thinking with a steady and steadfast hand, he did so. One of the first links that he saw was of _Samantha Golden_, the same link Melanie had just got done watching. He pressed his lips together firmly and clicked the link, he thought he'd seen it all. What were Janet and his wife upset over? Then he saw it.

David's eyes grew large and his face pale, there was his daughter, having sex with a random man. In the background, there was Carly with her boyfriend. Anger spiked inside of him as he saw the man whose hands were all over his daughter. He wanted to tear this man apart, to destroy him.

He gripped his coffee cup firmly and brought it to his lips, sipping it gradually. He continued to watch the video with no expression. Ten minutes felt like an eternity for him, and he was suffering through it. Why would Sam get involved in this? His eyes shifted over to Carly's and he narrowed them dangerously. He never cared for that Carly girl, always thought she might be bad news, but she never did anything wrong. Until now. Just when he thought he'd seen everything there was to see, something always ended up hitting him from the side, slapping him in the face.

Had he become a failure as a father? Was Sam not intending to go to college like Melanie? And what of sweet Melanie, would she be corrupted by her own sister? David closed his eyes and groaned when he heard Sam's moans. He couldn't explain what he was feeling, it was a mixture of disgust, anger, betrayal, and even hatred, but not for his daughter. Hatred for that man, hatred for Carly's boyfriend, and even Carly herself.

Once the video ended, he shut off his computer and rose up, grabbing his coat from the chair and putting it on himself. His mind was reeling. How long had Sam been doing this? She may be eighteen now, but she looked far too experienced to have been doing this for just a mere month.

Sweat dripped down the side of his face as he thought of his daughter having done more videos like that. He closed his eyes and breathed out his nose, letting his mustache hairs scatter slightly. He didn't want to think about how sick he was feeling, he could only think about the fact that his wife needed him and she needed him now.

He left the office where his officers looked at him with concern. He looked at them with tired, but angry eyes, and cleared his throat. "I'm going to be gone the rest of the day. Scotty, you're in charge." His second in command gave a firm nod and David quickly walked out of the building. He needed to remember to investigate that site more later, to find out just what his daughter was doing behind his back.

Pam was still on the couch, watching the kitchen blankly as her sister went back and forth from checking on the food and checking on her. Janet sat next to her and placed her hand on Pam's, looking sadly into her eyes. Pam hadn't said a word for the past half hour, she didn't even seem to acknowledge Janet's presence. "Pam dear, should I call Annie over so she can entertain you with some of her art?" Pam always loved to see her niece's work. Annie was into more than just body art, she was an art major, and sold many paintings. Only, Pam didn't react, it was as though she didn't even hear her sister's words. Janet gave a deep sigh and closed her eyes, she was really trying, and she wasn't going to stop now. And where was Melanie? She was the one who contacted Pam, maybe she was still with Freddie, trying to overcome her own shock.

The front door opened and David came rushing in. Janet looked up and Pam continued to stare emotionlessly ahead. "Pam? Pam!" He hurried to her right side and took her hands, looking into her eyes for any signs of life. What was he going to tell her? What was he going to _do_? He couldn't just have his daughter arrested, she wasn't under legal age anymore. "Pam, I'm here." Pam blinked and slowly looked at her husband. Her eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks swollen. David cupped her cheek with his hand and his eyes softened.

"David, I didn't want to bother you at work…"

"Something like this comes up, and I don't have a problem with leaving work early. I need to be with my wife when she needs me, and you need me." Her eyes watered and she leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

"Our daughter…she's on a porn site…"

"I know baby, I know…" Janet stood from the couch and smiled slightly, dusting her hips off. David looked at her with gratitude, thankful that she called him when she did.

"David, did you get ahold of Melanie on the way from work?"

"Yeah, she and Freddie are with his mother right now. She's hysterical, Marissa's calming her down but doesn't know much about what's going on. She should be heading home within the hour. Has anyone been able to reach Samantha?" Janet shook her head and David's throat clenched up. Pam choked up and shook her head.

"Should she be allowed to the family get together next weekend?" Janet raised her eyebrow and David shrugged his shoulders.

"We will deal with that bridge when it comes, Pam. First…I think we all just need to relax. Okay?" Pam nodded and Janet gave a small smile.

"Agreed." Janet walked over to the front door and shut it gradually, not wanting to leave it open for bugs to get in. "Dave, Pam, I think it would be best not to bring anything up to Sam tonight." The two looked at her, concern filling their eyes. Janet placed her hands on her hips. "I'm just saying _try _to enjoy dinner, and rest before confronting her." She wasn't asking them to be understanding, even she couldn't understand what was going, but she at least had the calmest head right now. She wanted them to clear their minds, if at all possible. Chances were slim, however, that they would last the night without something coming up.

* * *

><p>Janet's a bit of the calm voice in this chapter, but even she knows that she's lying to herself. Dinner tonight for them will probably go to hell, there's no escaping that fact.<p> 


	3. An Enemy Reaches Out

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

A/N: Okay this takes place around the same time as the live chat in the prior chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3 (An Enemy Reaches Out)<p>

Nevel Papperman scanned iCarly's reviews with question. He'd seen the review in question about someone showing their tits and was trying to gather why someone would say such a thing. Freddie must have found a way to remove comments, because the review was long gone now. However, there seemed to be a series of reviews over a period of time that Freddie had overlooked, possibly due to the fact that they were so subtle.

Nevel's brow furrowed as his eyes scanned reviews dating back to a year ago as when the 'odd' reviews began. One of the first referred to Carly as _Carlotta_. Nevel read the review out loud to himself, feeling rather disgusted. _Carlotta, you do crazy things to me, can't wait to see your next video._ His eyebrows rose and suddenly he began to feel very dirty. Another review actually referred to the other part of her name, though it confused him. _Ooh Miss Bush, I do so love how you work the cowboy outfit!_

"How did Freddie miss that one?" Nevel asked to no one in particular. His voice was flat and dry, and his eyes were slanted in irritation. It didn't help that he was half asleep, he had stayed up late the prior night trying to finish his homework and deciding what he was going to talk about in today's video blog for his site. Now, his interest had been peaked, but not for nefarious purposes, he was just curious enough to want to know how to crack the mystery of "Carlotta Bush". Perhaps, his internet would find it through Google. He didn't have any web filters, so if there was anything 'dirty' out there, then it would likely show up. He switched over to Google and typed in "Carlotta Bush". The search brought up dozens of results.

Aside from a few unrelated people who bore the name, he found some less than pleasant links, which he clicked and was sent to some filthy websites. His eyebrows shot up and his jaw fell slightly.

_Carlotta Bush takes on a high school football team!_

When the video started, he wasn't sure what high school it was. It wasn't ridgeway, he could tell that by the uniforms, but he did see Carly surrounded by a group of ten or more football players. She had her hands on one of their faces and was kissing him, lifting her left leg up to his waist.

Nevel tilted his head slightly. This was wrong, he was sure of it. It was filthy as it was disgusting, and he felt dirtier the longer he stared. He looked at the length bar and saw that it was almost forty minutes long. He groaned and looked away. "Aw geez. Carly Shay, what the fuck…" He clicked on the bar, to speed up the process. One minute in, twelve minutes in, and so on. Every groan he heard from her, every shout, every squeal, just made him feel sicker. He was about ready to puke, so he quickly went away from the screen.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he typed her name in the search bar and was astonished with how many videos he was seeing. The page numbers went up to ten, and there were twenty videos per page. There was at _least_ a years-worth of videos, and the majority of them were of Carly! He clicked through several of the videos, each of them disgusted him, and with each of them, whatever respect that he had for Carly was slowly diminishing. He at least acknowledged her for having a respectable webshow, but this was just _wrong_. "What has become of you, Carly Shay?"

It was not long before his mother came barging in, having heard the noises from the computer. "Nevel Papperman! Is that _porn_ on your computer?" Nevel's face flushed and he quickly looked to his mother. How would he explain it was only research and he wasn't interested in the filthy acts? She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, looking at him with irritation. "I'll give you twenty minutes to wrap things up here, get your video log thing done and get to the living room. We're going to have a little chat about your online activities."

"Mom, it's not what you think, really!" She huffed and eyed him sternly, to the point where he knew she wasn't interested in arguing, nor did she care whether or not it was what she thought. She simply did not want him to be watching porn, it was degrading and something that could kill a good life, and it was a good life she wanted for her son.

"It better not be." She clicked her heels to the ground and slowly walked out of the room. She would be watching him like a hawk from here on out. Nevel rolled his eyes and clicked away from the screen. He placed his hand to his stomach and shook his head as he flicked on his webcam. Now was the time for action. He wasn't going to record anything for nefarious purposes, he just wanted to send Carly a little message, one that only she could see.

"Carly Shay, or should I say…" His cheeks puffed out as the bile climbed up his throat. "I should say _Carlotta Bush_. I don't understand, Carly. You became a porn star?" His mother gave a triumphant shout and Nevel rolled his eyes in frustration. His fingers tapped his desk nervously as he slowly glared at the door. He didn't like that his mother was listening in, but he earned it. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled through his nose. "Right…"

He cracked his neck and rubbed it. He had a painful sensation there which had not gone away since he woke. He needed to get better pillows. "Anyway, Carly, I don't understand this…why would you do that to yourself? Why would you _degrade_ yourself in such a way? I mean come on! I know I wanted to see your life in ruins, but you know something?" He squinted his eyes and muttered out the title of the video with the high school team. "I remember wanting to kiss you and you refused, but here you are, having sex with ten or fifteen different guys, all at once! There's hundreds of videos similar to this! I tell you, I'm sorry to say that I _have_ seen your life in ruins…At least, no good can possibly come of being a porn star and letting the entire world see your naked body…which I have _never_ wanted to see in my life!"

The sad thing was, he saw Sam too. In one of the videos, there was a three way between Carly, Sam, and Carly's boyfriend, Greg AKA Douglas. "Carly, don't you see how bad this could get? I mean if you want money, if you want fame, whatever it is you want…there are other ways to get it! You're the star of a successful webshow called iCarly, you were a respectable person, and now…" Nevel slapped the table and pointed to the screen with his hand. "Now you're trash! You and Sam both! Why? Why would you do this?"

Nevel slowly shook his head and glanced at his clock, he wanted to make this short, but it might run long. Maybe his words could reach her? And what if they did? Could he impact her at all, maybe tell her she can change her life if she just backed out now. Maybe she could save her. "Jesus, these videos…it's like you've done it in every room of your house or something. I have to say, I'm disgusted! Why would you_ do_ something like this? I-I just can't understand. I mean shit, if my being your enemy was what did it, I'm sorry! I'll never try and ruin your life again, not that you haven't already done that anyway…"

He spoke for some time more before ending the recording and saving it in a folder. With a loud yawn, he stood up and left to converse with his mother and _try_ to explain to her how he wasn't watching pornography, nor did he have a desire to do so.

This discussion carried on for nearly an hour before dinner was done and Nevel scarfed it all down in just half an hour. At the end of that, is mother made him help her with the dishes and cleaning the house up, which took another hour and a half. When all of that work was finally complete, he made his way into his room, tired out from the work coupled with the full meal. He knew he still needed to send the video to Carly. He didn't want her to screw up her life, he wasn't that hateful of her. Maybe he was mean, maybe he was cruel, so he was taking anger management class for all the issues that he had, but he wasn't evil enough to wish Carly would spoil herself in the grotesque porn industry.

Making his way to his chair, he yawned loudly and rested his cheek upon his closed hand. He blinked softly and moaned as he opened up his blog site and his email client. He clicked one of the videos in his folder and started the upload process on his site, yawning once more as he did so. He didn't want to be late with his daily video log. He wished it would be earlier, but he agreed with the iCarly gang to make his videos at a later time than theirs.

He covered his mouth up with his hand and yawned again, his eyelids fell halfway and he shook his head to try and stay awake. "Jesus…" He started typing in the email message, a small note for Carly, and dragged a video to the attachments. He clicked the send button and slowly stood up from the computer, not realizing that in his exhaustion, he may have made a crucial error in judgment. He turned out the lights and crawled into his bed, pulling the covers up to his shoulders and closing his eyes as both the email client and the website rang out their alerts that the processes were complete. "Great…" His voice was groggy. He rolled over and moaned, he couldn't get the disturbing images of Carly out of his head. "Now let me sleep."

Carly Shay was back at her house, propped on the couch with her laptop open. Sam had a massive freak-out earlier, so it took a while to calm her down before sending her on her way. After that, she and Douglas went off on their own again and shot another video. She was typing on her instant messenger with some dude who wanted to arrange some sort of webcam sex with her. She saw no problem with that, as long as she got some recognition from doing it.

She hummed a tune to herself and tilted her head back, closing her eyes and breathing out a sigh. She and Sam did not do anymore lesbian videos, due to the fact that while Sam was always meticulous about whoever she appeared with, Carly was not. Carly had acquired Herpes about two months ago, she found out when she had gone to donate blood and they turned her down. She did not tell Spencer, obviously, since he did not know of her seedy lifestyle. If he knew, it would practically destroy him, and she didn't want that. Chances were likely, he'd send her away to her grandfather, but that was a worst case scenario.

Nowadays, Carly only had sex with someone if they either knew the dangers of contracting an STD from her, or if they had an STD of some type themselves. She moaned with agitation as she reached down and scratched herself, herpes was a bitch. It flared up about once a month for her, just like her period, and when it did, it itched and burned more than anything she had ever felt before. The only thing that made her feel good, or at least made that feel better, was sex.

Her email client rang out and she groaned, slowly looking to her email. She lifted her eyebrows in surprise, stunned to see that Nevel, of all people, sent her something. She clicked his email open and read his note. Her eyebrows fell and she rolled her eyes. _Carly, I know about your, um, the 'lifestyle' you live. I sent you a video, it's for your eyes only. Please listen to what I have to say…I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed now. Goodnight Carly, and again, please hear me out. I know we're enemies, but still…_

What did she have to lose? Nothing was going on and she didn't have anything better to do. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to let some brat talk her out of what made her feel _good_. The touch of a man was addicting to her, and she wasn't going to just give that up on the drop of a hat. She opened the video and her eyebrows rose up, it was bright as day outside his window, clearly shot hours ago. He was _tired_, he said?

"Okay, Friday May 4th, 2012, this is my video entry of the day."

"Huh?" Carly's lips parted and her right eye squinted a bit. Why would Nevel send her one of his stupid video logs? She didn't want to see that, it was broing as hell. God, for a genius, Nevel was an idiot.

"Today was actually quite entertaining for me. I woke up as I usually do at…" She rolled her eyes as his awkward voice droned on about his daily activities. She definitely did not need to hear about this. She clicked off the video, clicked off her email, and went back to her chat with the person. She smirked smugly and started typing.

"So, you want to see my breasts? I'll turn on my webcam special for you, but I have to get up to my bedroom first. I fear my brother's poor heart would be too weak to withstand what I do for a living."

She completely ignored the alert that popped up on her screen, announcing Nevel's newly uploaded video on his site. Already, it was gaining many hits, and she closed the alert before making her way upstairs.

* * *

><p>An issue could have easily been avoided. You have to admit, Nevel did not act out of cruelty and he made a mistake. Now let me tell all you Carly lovers out there who might flame me because of this, before you flame me: Yes, things will start <em>very badly<em> for Carly. This lifestyle turns out to be very bad for those involved, but I will tell you this much, things will likely get better for her towards the end. Right now, Carly is key to a bigger picture.


	4. A Best Friend's Reaction

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

A/N: The first three chapters had to be so closely together, but this is the last of having to deal with that.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 (A Best Friend's Reaction)<p>

Sam made her way home slowly and quietly, she wasn't sure if Melanie was serious about having told their mother about finding out about her lifestyle, then there was no doubt their father knew as well. There was no way she would escape their scrutiny, but perhaps if she just tuned it out. They might not care, anyway. Coming up behind her was Valerie, Sam had called her earlier, really needing her at the time. They spent a while laughing and joking together, but Sam wanted to get down to the real reason she wanted to talk to her. "Hey Valerie?"

"What?" Sam stopped walking and looked at Valerie with a quiet expression, examining her face and praying Valerie wouldn't hate her if she told her what she'd been up to. She didn't want to bring Valerie into her lifestyle, but she wanted to tell somebody who wasn't involved in it. However, she was always afraid of that rejection, because she did know what happened to girls in the porn industry. She and Carly met several porn girls in their year of porn, and the majority of them lost their families and their friends. Someone even warned them about it, stating that it was dangerous for anyone to know of their life. Neither Sam nor Carly really cared at the time. Even now, it didn't seem to faze them. They believed themselves to be invincible, and as a matter of fact, Sam still didn't think anything would happen with her family finding out. As for Valerie, who was a good hearted Christian, there was a possibility of losing her friendship with this. "Sam? What is it?"

"I don't know…" She felt her stomach flip momentarily as Valerie eyed her with great concern. She needed to just come out with it, just say it. If Valerie shunned her, so be it. Could she overcome the hurt, though? She closed her hands up and locked her eyes with Valerie. "I understand if you never want to speak to me again after I say this…but it's to be expected with the lifestyle I live."

"Huh?" Valerie pressed her lips together and anxiety started to fill her heart. What was Sam talking about? What was so bad that her expression had to appear so mixed up with confusion, fear, and what seemed to be a fight? Why would she think that she'd stop talking to her? "Sam, what kind of friend do you think I am? To hate you or leave you…"

"You're a good friend." Sam smiled and took a slow step forward, taking Valerie's hand gently in hers. Valerie nodded and smiled back at her. "I think you're an understanding person and so maybe I'm right to think you won't shun me…It's just, that's the way the life works. Do you understand? It's why I don't _want_ to tell you, but I'm going to anyway because I trust you." Valerie took a deep breath, her body was starting to tense up from all the concern and curiosity. She relaxed her muscles as Sam closed her eyes. "Valerie. Carly and I are internet porn stars…"

She didn't say anything, she didn't react, she just kept staring at Sam for the longest time. Sam swallowed hard, her heart pounded beneath her chest. What was Valerie going to say? Did she hate her? Was she going to leave? The anxiety was too much! She clasped her hands together at her waist as Valerie began slowly recovering from the shock of Sam's confession. Sam braced herself for an emotional impact, she knew when she was about to lose a close friend. This was no surprise to her. "Thank…Thank you for being honest, Sam." She cleared her throat, trying to get the visualization out of her head. Sam's eyes widened as her friend gave her a slow, but friendly hug. This wasn't right, Valerie was supposed to be running off, but perhaps Sam was being too stupid to assume Valerie would do that. She did have a good heart, and she wouldn't just run away from someone out of hate and disgust. "I'm not saying that I like it, Sam. I really don't think you should be in that whole, uh…is business the right word?"

"It gives you money." Sam shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Valerie raised an eyebrow and shivered. She was handling the news rather well. There was a reason for it though, and she already _knew_ Sam was involved in that kind of stuff.

"I didn't want to confront you until you told me or something, but I kind of already knew you were into that…" Sam's jaw dropped and her body flushed. How would Valerie even know? Then again, it was the internet, so just how many people did she know that knew about her life? "Don't you remember last month when you and I were making that pie from scratch, Carly and Douglas came over and you went into the other room?" Sam slowly nodded, recalling the memory a bit too well. Her heart clenched as she thought about Valerie possibly overhearing. Evidently, she did, and why would she want to tell Sam she overheard her?

"Uh huh…let me guess…" Valerie pressed her lips together and lifted her shoulders an inch. She was embarrassed enough as it was, but there was no sense in lying to her best friend.

"Douglas is very loud and obnoxious sometimes." Thinking back, Sam narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue. Douglas was always laughing or talking boisterously. No matter how many times they tried, Carly and Sam could never shut him up. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if Douglas actually was the one who told Melanie and Freddie about the porn industry. They had that argument with him, but he still wanted to _try_ and recruit them. Now Sam was having to deal with her family, thinking they might go ballistic, and this was exactly _why_ she and Carly didn't want him to do that.

"Yeah he is. That day he wanted found someone for me to…you know…" Sam's face reddened and Valerie nodded her head as an understanding friend would do. Sam knew she probably didn't want to hear it, so she just gestured with her hand and continued walking with her. She chuckled nervously and glanced to the side, grateful that Valerie hadn't ran off on her. "So…does Jonah know? I mean the guy lives with you, you to want to get married after college and everything, so I assume you've told him…"

"Yes, Jonah knows." Sam visibly winced and put her hands behind her head, whistling a small tune to herself. Well if Jonah knew, it was surprising he still came around. Then again, the only reason he would come around would likely be because of Valerie. "So, why do you bring this up now? I mean, you didn't seem like you were ever going to bring it up or anything."

"Yeah well…" She turned her eyes down as they turned onto the street she lived on. "I could be in trouble. You see, Melanie and Freddie found out." Valerie's eyebrows rose sharply and the two girls made their way to the front yard. She knew Janet was there, she received that voice mail, but was too nervous to respond. Annie's car was parked in the front, so she was over as well. This could be nerve wracking for her. "Can we just stand out here for a minute? Talk?" Valerie glanced over, her friend was frozen and staring at the house. She did not want to face what would be inside. She knew her family well enough to know they were going to demand her to change her lifestyle, but she couldn't. She was too addicted to that life. "You should go home, Valerie…just go home." Valerie stared ahead at the house and shook her head, protesting Sam's words.

"I can't do that to you. I'm not going to hang you out to dry. I'm one of your closest friends, and Carly is too, isn't she? I mean she wouldn't do that to you either." Sam chuckled nervously as Valerie raised a questioning eyebrow. True, Carly would never do that to Sam, and she wouldn't do it to her, they were like sisters, despite the fact that she and Carly _had_ done some less than glamorous things together behind the camera. Valerie eyed her friend suspiciously, slowly realizing that yes, Carly was involved in the porn industry too, but perhaps there was something more there. "You and Carly don't…"

"No, it's nothing like that." Sam was not a lesbian, far from it, and the same was said of Carly. Those things were just a 'kinky' act that Douglas always wanted them to do. "Douglas made us do a few shoots together, it was awkward and weird as hell, but we did it anyway because people seem to like that sort of thing. We're practically sisters, Val, she and I."

"Oh that's all? Phew, I would have been a bit worried for you two there…not that I'm not worried enough as it is. And Jonah, he's protective of me." Sam nodded as Valerie glanced up in the air momentarily. Both girls knew that, it wasn't a matter of anything other than just wanting to take care of Valerie, to love her and cherish her. She could take care of herself, but if anyone disrespected her, Jonah would sit them down rather sternly and tell them to back off if necessary. "Like I said, he knows about you and Carly being involved in the whole porn thing, he doesn't like Douglas, and so he worries about me hanging around you guys sometimes."

"He's got the right mind to worry about that kind of stuff, too." She shrugged and tilted her head slightly, she was actually thankful that Jonah was watching out for Valerie, and Valerie was watching out for her if needed. "If I were in his shoes, I probably wouldn't want you anywhere _near _Douglas or Carly, considering they're the ones that got me into the whole thing. I needed money, and they said it gave a lot of money. Now I'm addicted to the whole thing."

"Don't you want to stop? I mean do you?"

"I…" Sam closed her eyes and thought about her life in sex. There was so much that she hid from her family, so much she hid from her friends. It was to the point that if her mother knew some of the stuff she had done, she would have a heart attack. The thing was, Sam enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as Carly, but she enjoyed the life so much that she wasn't sure she would so easily abandon it. "I don't know, Val. I'm addicted to the life…" Valerie slowly nodded, unsure how she should respond to her. After all, it was disturbing enough to hear of Sam's addiction, but it was just that. An addiction. Any addiction could be broken with support, but there had to be a will. Valerie wouldn't complain, but she wasn't happy about it.

"That's entirely up to you, Sam." She knew Valerie was hurt, maybe even scared for her, but she didn't know what to say or what to do. Did she really have a choice, per se? What could really go wrong with the life, though? She was careful, wasn't she? Sure, Carly caught a STD, but she wasn't as careful, and you have to be careful. Hazards are in every life. Valerie exhaled and glanced over to her friend. "Are you ready to go inside? We can't stay away from them forever. So what if they ask you to quit what you're doing, I mean…"

"It's okay Valerie." Sam lifted her hand and smiled, she didn't want Valerie to have to pretend to like the whole idea. She could see it was troubling her to really even talk about, she needed time to think things through. "I'm ready, I guess." She wasn't going to bring up her life if they weren't, that's the way she thought would be better. Of course, she was lying to herself and she knew it, a big fight was probably going to erupt all because of this. "Do you…Do you think Melanie will understand? I mean, she's my sister." Valerie pressed her lips together and stared ahead at the brown oak door meeting the white wood of the house.

"It doesn't get deeper than blood, but Sam…she's your _twin_. Did you go into the business thinking that she wouldn't be impacted?" Sam frowned and closed her hands tightly. She knew what Valerie was referring to, both of them remembered what Melanie had said earlier about the guy who was hitting on her. "I know you may be able to deal with that, with your lifestyle and all, but I don't think Melanie wants to."

"You think I cursed my own sister?" She lifted her eyes to Valerie and exhaled softly. If Melanie wanted to hate her for some guys hitting on her, then fine, but she didn't think it was _that _big of a deal. Valerie started to say something, but stopped when the door opened. A thirty three year old woman covered with tattoos and onyx colored hair stepped out of the door and smiled. It was Annie.

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><p>You know, I was waiting for a few days for anyone else to review after Boris, but evidently he's the only reader. That's fine I suppose, read away and review if you feel like it, I got a story to write :P<p> 


	5. Dinner

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

A/N: The first three chapters had to be so closely together, but this is the last of having to deal with that.

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><p>Chapter 5 (Dinner)<p>

"Sammy!" Annie waved and Sam grinned happily. "Are you going to stand out here all day or come in?" She gestured for her little cousin to hurry into the house and have dinner. "We don't have all day! My husband and baby are inside too."

"Brian and Daniel are here too?" Daniel was two and a half years old, he would be three in December. So far, three of Sam's cousins were married. Annie, Garth, and Tanya, who was the daughter of Morris and Nancy. Annie was the only one to have a child. Gregory never married, then there was Jacob, who was only seventeen. Sometimes she wondered if she'd ever get married one day. Who wouldn't want to marry a porn star, right? "Awesome! Now, question is, Annie. Am I allowed in the house or is it a battlefield?"

"Huh?" Annie stared at Sam for a moment, then broke out in a nervous laugh. She knew about the whole porn thing going on, but she wasn't going to bring it up. So far, everyone seemed okay. "They're quiet today, but all in all, it seems fine. Just don't say anything and there shouldn't be any major volcanic eruptions, okay?"

"Volcanic…eruptions?" Sam chuckled for a moment, then nodded. She could go for that. "Fine." However, 'quiet', was not something she would normally describe her family. Usually dinner was filled with laughter, talks about how the day went, and then there was the after dinner game where everyone would decide on a game to play and play it. Sometimes it was a card game, sometimes a board game, or even a video game. Sam and Valerie followed Annie into the house, where they found it abnormally silent. It was an eerie feeling, something Sam was never used to around her home. "Jesus, what has everyone-" Valerie put her finger to her lips and Sam quickly nodded as Annie glanced over at her calmly. "Nevermind…I wonder if Benson is over here."

"No, he's at his own place." How great, Freddie wasn't there to add further insult to injury with what would surely be disapproving glares. Annie hurried into the living room and Sam heard her call out to the family. "Okay Sam's here, can we eat now?" Valerie casually walked in, as if nothing was to be expected. Sam remained hidden. That was, until Annie returned, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back into the living room where everybody was there.

Suddenly, it felt abnormally cold. Melanie was sitting on the brown leather couch, staring absently at the wall ahead of her. Her mother sat next to her, her face done up in makeup to hide her red face. Sam's eyes floated across the room to the couch on the other side of the coffee table in the center of the room, where Brian was holding Daniel in his lap. Brian looked up to Sam, his eyes told a sorrowful tell of a calm voice in a raging storm. With his eyes, it soon became clear to her that Janet, Annie, and Brian were there for more than just dinner.

Then there was her father, seated in the recliner chair on the far side of the coffee table, straight across from Sam. David was staring at her, his lips firmly pressed against each other and his eyes filled with disappointment and disapproval. She could feel the tension, cutting her like a knife. Janet was in the kitchen, possibly setting the table. Annie took Sam's wrist again, smiled, and floated through the tension, leading Sam and Valerie into the kitchen. Sam could feel her family's eyes upon her with every step. Once in the safety of the kitchen, the atmosphere was a bit different. The wonderful smell of food hit her nostrils and filled them with delight. The table was so perfectly set, with a napkin tucked neatly next to each plate and the silverware resting upon the napkin. Janet looked over to Sam and smiled at her, happy to see her niece.

"It was nice of you to join us for dinner, Sam. Please, have a seat." Janet pulled a side chair out and Sam sat quietly. Valerie took a seat next to her and looked up to the kind woman.

"Thank you Mrs. Lewis." Slowly, the rest of the family filed into the kitchen. At the head of the table, David took his seat. Next to him, his wife on one side and Melanie on the other side. She was also in between her father and Sam. Next to Valerie, Annie took her chair. On the other side of the table, Janet sat next to Pam and Brian next to her, across from Annie and right next to the high chair. Unfortunately, Uncle Frank could not make it to dinner, as he was still at work. Pam turned her eyes to Valerie and gave her a smile.

"We're glad you could join us for dinner, Valerie. Where is Jonah?"

"Any time, Mrs. Puckett. Jonah's working,."

"Oh? What does he do for a living?"

"Well he wants to be a mechanical engineer, so right now he's working at an auto shop. When he's not at college, he's working most of the time to be able to keep the money in." David's eyes lifted up as Janet started to serve everyone's food. Pam tilted her head with concern and held Valerie's gaze.

"Does he work all the time? You see him, don't you?"

"Yes, he works Monday through Friday, from eight in the morning to eight in the morning to nine at night when he doesn't have school. On the days he does, he doesn't work, but studies. We still see each other plenty."

"That's great, I'm glad you two have a plan worked out." David grasped his silverware and closed his eyes, clearing his throat.

"Yes, a stable job with a steady income. I'll bet he's making his parents proud." Sam caught it as a personal blow and rolled her eyes while Valerie simply smiled and lifted her hand up. "Anyhow, it's time to bless the food. Valerie, since you're our guest at the table, would you like to bless it?"

"Yes sir." Everyone bowed their heads and Sam folded her hands over in her lap. Her mother wouldn't even look at her, Melanie wasn't looking at her, even her father seemed to be blatantly ignoring her. What was this, some kind of discipline or something? 'Pretend your daughter isn't here', day? She shouldn't have even come to dinner, they seemed not to want to acknowledge her presence. Though, they also looked like they would pop any minute now, just as a fork in a balloon.

After prayer, everyone began to eat. Sam caught Melanie through the corner of her eyes, staring at her. She shifted her eyes and Melanie quickly turned her attention back to the food in front of her. Sam smiled vaguely and took a bite of her meal. The flavor was spectacular, as always to be expected from her mother's cooking. Granted Janet probably cooked more, judging by the look in her mother's eyes. The woman probably had a massive panic attack. "This food's great." An attempt at starting a pleasant conversation fell upon deaf ears. Valerie gazed sadly at her friend while taking another bite of her meal. She couldn't help but worry for her, though it wouldn't do any good.

Sam stared at her relatives, each of them silent and somber, eating their meals as if there was nothing else in the world to do. Annoyance swept through her as she clutched her fork and clenched her teeth. It wasn't right, them ostracizing her like this! What had she done? "You guys don't have to act like this, you know." Pam closed her eyes and Janet started shaking her head, trying to get Sam not to say anything. Sam growled and set her fork down. "No! It's not fair, we're a family, can't we act like one? There's got to be something to talk about." Valerie moaned inwardly and Melanie looked away, on the verge of tears. David slowly wiped his mouth as Annie and Brian exchanged worried glances.

"You want to talk about something, Samantha?" Janet sighed and set her elbow on the table, resting her fingers on her forehead and dropping her fork onto her plate. She knew this was coming, why hadn't she done anything to prepare for this? Sam's head snapped over to her father as he set his hands firmly on the table and looked at his daughter with growing anger. Pam wanted to protest, but she knew she couldn't do anything. "Perhaps we can talk about the heart attack you nearly gave your mother today! Maybe we could talk about the movie you _didn't_ go see." Sam scoffed slightly and looked to the side, standing up.

"I don't have to hear this. I knew this would happen the moment I stepped in. It's not your business, you know." David slammed his palm onto the table and quickly rose up. The entire table shook, signaling everyone to set their silverware down. They knew they wouldn't be enjoying the meal, the bottle had already been opened.

"The hell it isn't my business!" He pointed his finger at Sam and narrowed his eyes. "You are my daughter, and that's that! You go around parading yourself like a common whore, giving blowjobs to god knows _who_, and for what? For money? Sam, if you needed money all you ever had to do was ask!"

"Ask who? You never lend me any money! And I don't give just anybody…" Sam growled and crossed her arms, turning away from her father. Janet closed her eyes as David's palm fell against the table. She glanced at her sister, concerned for her, and found Pam with no expression, just staring at her food.

"Do you hate us, Samantha? Do you hate your sister? Do you hate your mother? Is it me? What's wrong? Did we not raise you right? Tell me. I'm your father, you should be able to talk to me about these things."

"It was only that one video, Dad…" Maybe telling him that would lessen the impact, lesson the feeling. Valerie lifted her eyebrows and continued to quietly eat her meal. Where everyone else wasn't, she didn't want to let the food go to waste. She wanted to share recipes with Janet later, the food _was_ pretty good.

"You're lying to us, _again!_" Sam rolled her eyes and turned to her father, glaring at him ferociously. Why was she so angry? She didn't really have a valid reason for her anger, she just felt a bit of intrusion.

"What?"

"Your mother and Melanie both said they spotted _multiple_ videos. As a police agent, I have to investigate that site, how do you think it's going to go over if the office finds out their Lieutenant's _daughter_ is on a questionable porn site that allows underage teenagers on there?"

"Well _sorry_, I didn't know that was all you cared about."

"Damn it, Samantha! That's not what I'm worried about!" His chest heaved out and a small vein was starting to protrude from his neck. He had a lot to deal with, but more than anything he wanted to. This wasn't supposed to happen to families like his, they were supposed to have a _good_ life, not fall into stunts like this. "How many lies have you fed us? What about that Shay girl, are you sleeping around with her too?" Sam started to pale, but quickly recovered. That was a hard blow, especially with how her father referred to Carly.

"It's not like that, Dad."

"Oh it's not?" David narrowed his eyes and folded his hands at his waist. "Then why don't you enlighten me?"

"We're like sisters."

"Oh? Sisters? Were you thinking of your sister when you decided to go fuck someone and put it online? In fact, I forbid you to see Carly!" Pam and Melanie looked up to David and Sam clenched her teeth painfully. Her throat clenched and her eyes began to sting. Her father's rage was powerful, overbearing. "Don't you _know_ what you've gotten yourself into?"

"I-I don't have to hear this. I'm going up to my room." Janet smacked her forehead and Annie gently rubbed her mother's back. Valerie carefully set her fork down as Sam ran off, feeling her father's burning glare on her. There was not much more that could be said, not much more that could be done. Melanie slowly stood from the table, tears brimming in her eyes. Daniel began bawling from the high chair and Brian quickly pulled him out and started heading into the living room.

"Mom, Dad…" David slowly looked to Melanie as she wiped her eyes. "I'm going to go up to my room. I've had a long day, and I'm tired."

"You're excused."

"Thanks Dad…" Janet leaned her head back as Pam slowly stood up. Janet quickly looked up and groaned as the two parents made their way to the master bedroom. Valerie pressed her lips together and glanced over to Annie, who went to check on her son and husband.

"Well great, I made a great dinner and it's ruined now." Janet slowly stood up and started gathering the plates to move them to the counter. Valerie took a bite of the chicken and lifted her eyebrows as Janet set the plates down, contemplating whether to leave them out for the family or not. She glanced over to Valerie with a slight smile, happy to see the girl was still eating.

"This really_ is_ good. Maybe we can exchange recipes?" Janet felt her heart lift up and placed a hand above her chest. She gradually walked back to her chair and pulled it out, sitting down slowly.

"Yeah, I think that sounds great. I'd love to. You're an aspiring chef?"

"Mhmm." Valerie took another bite and hummed contentedly. The flavor, the taste, the texture, it was all just too perfect. She opened her eyes and took a drink of her water. "I want to own my own chain of restaurants one day, so I try to learn everything I can about food."

"Well that's a great plan, and it seems you're off to a good start."

"Thank you. So…let's talk lemon pepper chicken."

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><p>Well in the end, Valerie tries to put a smile on Janet's face. A rather tense chapter, the next one isn't going to be pretty either as the rest of the families discover the life of the girls.<p> 


	6. Families Find Out

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6 (Families Find Out)<p>

Sixteen year old Jacob Rogers, son of Pam's youngest sister, Erica, is the typical hormonal teenager. He would turn seventeen in September. His brown hair covers his left eye, he is skinny, unlike the other male cousins in the family, and also pale. His parents often wished he'd at least get outside more often, get some real friends, and spend time hanging out. If anything, like his other cousins did. Erica would tell her son all the time, Samantha at least had a webshow going on. Garth was always working out and had a beautiful wife, Tanya was a guidance counselor and starting a happy family as well, Gregory was teaching music lessons and mixing in with many different personalities out there, and even Annie was an aspiring artist. Jacob was the only cousin who had no life. Hell, he was barely even passing all his classes, how would he take his senior year next year? Poorly?

At the dinner table, he was eating spaghetti with his parents. His father, Jack, was a bulky construction worker who had a thick blonde mustache. He was a stern man, but at the same time, kind to everybody he met. Erica usually had her brown hair up in in a bun. She wore medium brim, dark glasses, and always seemed to wear business casual clothing. She was a hard-nosed individual, who believed strongly in women's empowerment.

Jack wiped his mouth with his napkin and moved his eyes over to his wife. "Erica, you said something was up with Pam?" They'd received a distress call from Janet earlier, saying that Pam was upset and needed someone to talk to while Janet was working on the food. Erica tried talking to her, but she didn't know what was wrong. Erica gave a slight shrug of her shoulders and stirred her spaghetti onto the fork.

"I'm not sure exactly, she was extremely distraught over Samantha. She was asking if she was a good mother and whatnot. So I guess her daughter got into some trouble again."

"Maybe." Erica wasn't too fond of Sam, to be perfectly honest. She always had high standards, and Sam always seemed to have lower standards. The girl never seemed to do well in school, she always seemed to be more interested in playing around and never taking life seriously. She didn't appear to have a future planned, whereas every one of the cousins did. Why, even Jacob was going to become a doctor. At least in Erica's mind he was.

"Samantha doesn't appear to have her head in the right place." Jacob slurped up the last bits of his spaghetti and set his fork down on the plate. He didn't want to hear his mother downgrading Sam. Hell, none of the cousins really appreciated that. She was family, and she had her own personality. What was so wrong about that?

"Mom, Dad, leave her alone." Erica and Jack turned their eyes to Jacob as he rose from the seat and walked to the sink. He was appalled by his mother's harsh criticism of Sam, it wasn't like she'd done anything wrong to deserve her aunt's unkind words. "You shouldn't be so critical of your own flesh and blood, right?" The woman closed her eyes and shrugged as she watched her son walk off to his room, she did admire the fact that he was close to his cousins. Perhaps she was being too hard on Sam.

She stood from the table and took the empty dishes to the sink, where she promptly began to do the dishes. After the dishes were done, she and her husband watched television for about two hours before her sister Isabel called. Nancy was visiting Isabel's home, so both sisters were interested in possibly meeting up with Erica for dinner the next day. "Sure, I don't see why not. We can talk about what we're all doing for the gathering come Saturday."

"Yeah, I just hope Pam will be okay by then."

"I'm sure it's nothing, Isabel." There was that hope that it was nothing, that maybe Pam was just freaking out about something not quite as bad as people were thinking. "Oh, do you want to talk to Jacob? He hasn't heard from you in a long time, I'm sure he'd love to talk to two of his favorite aunts."

"Yeah, of course!" The woman smiled as she moved towards Jacob's bedroom, stopping just short of his door. She held her hand on the doorknob and heard her son curse very loudly, as though surprised by something.

"Jacob?" She quickly opened the door, wondering what she could do for him, then she encountered the shock of a lifetime. Her heart stopped and her body froze over. Jacob was pale, his eyes wide and focused on the screen, he had a very traumatized expression on his face. He was watching porn. Erica knew of this habit and had tried to get him to quit, but attributed it to just a phase. "Jacob!"

He slowly turned his head to his mother, a very apologetic look glinted in his eyes. What had hit him? Her eyes were locked on the screen as well. The video that he had just clicked on was of one 'Golden Samantha' who Erica quickly identified as her young niece. Isabel and Nancy were overcome with worry, as their sister had not spoken a word. When they started to ask what was wrong, Erica replied in an almost shaky, yet cynical voice. "I-I think I know what Pam is upset about. Samantha is a porn star!"

"What?" The sisters gasped as Erica pulled Jacob from his seat and pushed him towards the door.

"Go out to the living room Jacob, I will talk to you in a minute!" Jacob immediately followed his mother's orders, swearing to never look at porn again. She moved towards the computer and looked at it quietly, narrowing her eyes. "I always knew that Samantha was on a road to nowhere. Look at this, _Samantha Golden_, and she's going about…" A tight pit formed in her gut and she quickly turned off the computer. Nancy and Isabel were feeling pretty disgusted as well by what they were hearing. Was it true? Was Sam really a porn star?

"You can't be serious! Sam would never!"

"I saw it, my _son_ saw his cousin in a porn video!" The mere thought of it was enough to make her explode in anger. How dare Sam put herself out there like that! How dare she allow herself to be seen by all, including her own cousin! "I told you that iCarly show spoiled her! And that Shay girl, that girl couldn't be much better I'm certain." Isabel swallowed and Nancy spoke in, attempting to be a voice of reason. Granted, she wasn't as good at calming her sisters down as Janet, but she could always try.

"Look Erica, I'm sure it was nothing but a harmless mistake. Just let it blow over, okay?" No one really understood why she was always so hard on people, especially Sam, but they could never seem to get her to look around with a different perspective. It was like talking to a brick wall with her, she just refused to see things any other way than how she felt the world should run.

"No, we need to talk to Pamela, she can't be letting her daughter run out of control like this! My poor son is _traumatized_ now!" Speaking of whom, she needed to try and console Jacob in some way. She let a soft, disapproving growl escape her throat. "Pam and Dave need to discipline their daughter. She's going to give herself over to prostitution if she keeps up! She's turning into such a bad egg!" Nancy and Isabel glanced at each other, exchanging worried glances. They really didn't see now as an appropriate time to talk to her about this subject. They were still confused, still concerned, and needed to see the evidence for themselves. Erica wouldn't lie about something like this, they knew that.

Miles away, Spencer sat at his computer with Sasha next to him. He had a stern look on his face and sweat was dripping down his forehead. Sasha's mouth was covered with her hand and her eyes were wide. "I can't believe this, Sasha…" They saw Nevel's video and had decided to investigate, and were stunned by what they had seen. "I know she acted out a lot, argued with my authority, but this is…this is…"

They'd skimmed through multiple videos, fighting through their urges to vomit. During this time, Sasha had done everything in her power to try and calm Spencer down, being the voice of reason that he needed. This was a pure act of disrespect. How could Carly do this to him? How could she treat him this way? How could she do these things under his roof? "Spencer, don't…don't take it so hard…"

"Don't take it so hard? Sasha, that's my bedroom!" He pointed at the video that was currently on the screen and turned his eyes away in disgust. Carly was on his bed with two strange men, one black and one white, and they were in a very compromising position.

Was he a bad brother? Sasha clicked off the screen and frowned at Spencer, who was staring hard at the ground. Where had he gone wrong in raising her? He shook his head slowly and looked up to his fiancé. "Maybe granddad was right, maybe I'm not fit to raise her. If she's this able to just have sex whenever she pleases under this roof!"

"Spencer honey, you can't mean that."

"No, I mean it." He rose angrily and clenched his hands up. Where was he when some of these videos were shot? He _trusted_ Carly and left frequently on art projects. He was even teaching art classes now, so he was often gone. Had getting a job been a bad move? No, he needed to start a life with Sasha. He wanted to raise a family with her. "What kind of environment…No, I…I need to think."

"Spencer…" She frowned as Spencer waved his hand in the air and turned toward the front door. He couldn't discuss this right now, he was experiencing too much pain, too much guilt, and too much betrayal. It felt like someone had jabbed a knife into his stomach and was slowly twisting it around. Sasha took a step forward as Spencer opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. "Spencer!" It was too late, he was already out.

She knew Carly needed someone, perhaps she needed someone to talk to. A friend, a confidante. After a few minutes, Carly came walking into the door. She looked to Sasha and smiled at her, but instantly frowned when she saw a serious, disapproving expression on the woman's face. "Sasha? What's wrong?" Sasha slowly folded her arms over her chest, sucking in air and slowly releasing it. She wasn't going to let herself become violently angry.

"Carly Shay, we need to talk."

"Am I in trouble?" Carly chuckled nervously as she made her way to the couch. Sasha raised an eyebrow and took note of Carly's sloppy clothing, it appeared to have been thrown on. Not only that, but there was a peculiar smell coming from her. She took another look at Sasha and slowly sat down, realizing she wasn't getting out of this anytime soon. "Okay, what's wrong?" She watched her future sister in law press the alt and tab keys on the keyboard and soon her eyes were growing. Sasha closed her eyelids as Carly slowly stood up, seeing her video on the computer. No, she wasn't in a little trouble, she was in a _world_ of trouble.

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><p>Well, Spencer's very upset, Sasha's angry. Next chapter begins the school where we see what has happened due to Nevel's honest mistake.<p> 


	7. Freddie's Decision

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7 (Freddie's Decision)<p>

Sam and Carly met up at the doors of the school, their eyes locked together and they could easily see their friend had some severe thoughts on their mind. Sam didn't want to talk about what happened at her home, not right now. She didn't even want to think about the fact that she might not be allowed to see Carly anymore. No, she wouldn't listen. Carly was her best friend, and no matter what, she was going to remain her friend. "Carly, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Carly smiled warily and shook her head. She didn't really know how to respond. Last night had been awkward for her, but she and Sasha had a great talk. Sasha really was a good person, but she was a tad biased considering her relation to Spencer. Spencer had not come back home that night, not until after Carly was already asleep. "Spencer wouldn't even talk to me this morning, Sam. I don't…He couldn't even look at me." Sam frowned as Carly's heart tightened inside. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her lifestyle, it gave her power and glory. More so than iCarly did!

"Why? What happened?"

"Nevel…" Sam raised an eyebrow as Carly looked away guiltily. She hated to admit that she screwed up, but she did. When she ignored the obvious fact that Nevel sent her the wrong video, then ignored that alert, she shouldn't have. "I should have called him up when he sent me that message…then that alert…I should have paid more attention."

"Carly? What did Nevel do?"

"He tried to send me a video because he found out I was into porn. Apparently he was trying to reach out to me or something." Sam's eyes started to enlarge. She could easily see where this was going. The awkward glances on the way to school, the mothers pulling their kids away from her while walking, all these things could only add up to one thing. Could Nevel have revealed them to be porn stars? She hoped it wasn't true, not after the whole thing with her family. She swallowed hard and brushed her hair back. There was an incredible pain she was feeling right now, and no matter how hard she tried to push it away, she couldn't. "He sent me his daily video log, Sam. He uploaded the wrong video on his site…"

"No!" Like a punch to the gut, the wind was torn from her. Carly closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. She knew that if Spencer was able to catch Nevel's video, then it was only a matter of time before everyone else saw it over the weekend it had been up. Now that it was Monday, she knew something bad was going to happen today.

"Spencer and Sasha saw the video, then they looked it up. I guess Spencer ran out of the house after that, but Sasha sat down and talked to me." Sam slowly nodded her head as the two girls began walking towards the front door. "She says she's going to try and keep Spencer calm and help me 'quit' the porn industry. I say I'm not going to quit, I love the work too much."

"Yeah, plus the money you get…You and Douglas always seem to do well for yourselves. I put the money I get away for saving." Carly grinned and opened the door. She and Douglas were planning on possibly getting a life started one day after graduation. Sam was surprised that the couple didn't care that the other person was constantly having sex with someone else. "My family found out yesterday. You remember when Douglas was trying to get us to help recruit Freddie and Melanie into the porn industry?"

"Uh huh."

"Well he tried, they refused, but they looked at the site anyway. Why? I don't know." Carly gasped softly and growled. She would have to talk to Douglas. How could he go behind their backs like that? "And I know my family well enough to know this could get out of hand with them."

"Great. So they found one of your videos?" Sam nodded and glanced towards the side, taking in a deep breath as the girls walked into the school. Almost immediately, students began turning away, teachers eyed them, and people gossiped. The girls closed their eyes and kept walking, trying to ignore everybody. The pit in their gut was telling them they had yet to see the worst of it all. They didn't care of people hated them, at least not now What was the worst that could happen? "These people are ignorant. It's just a fucking life."

"Hey Carly! Show your tits for us!" A student's voice cried out. Carly gasped and glared at the student. Sam took a dangerous step towards the person, but the scrawny geek didn't budge. "What? You show them to everyone else, why not us?" She frowned and Sam quickly started pushing her towards the lockers.

"Okay let's go! Come on!" The girls ran around the corner and stopped near the lockers. There wasn't anybody around, so they could take a break.

"Jesus, talk about uncomfortable." Carly shivered as Sam peered around the corner, trying to make sure nobody was following them. She heard Carly cry out and quickly turned around. Carly was staring at their lockers, her hand cupped over her mouth and her eyes watered. Sam turned her eyes to the locker and froze. The lockers were trashed, dented and torn, along with various derogatory remarks spray painted on the doors.

_Whore_

_ Sluts_

_ Lesbians!_

There were dozens of other names, some that honestly shocked the girls that any high school students would know. "Sam, are they really that ignorant?" She never met anyone who was so cruel in regards to porn stars, but then, most of the people she'd met were through that industry itself. "Why should they even care? It's not like it's their business or anything what we do. Right? I mean it only affects _us_."

"Don't be so sure about that," Freddie's irritated voice spoke out behind the girls. They turned around and saw Freddie standing with his arms crossed and eyes narrow. Next to him was Melanie, her face was red with tears. "Your little porn industry affects everyone. Thanks, my reputation's tarnished now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about all the graffiti scrawled on my damn locker! Melanie's too!" Sam and Carly raised their eyebrows as Freddie pointed towards his locker, which was next to Melanie's. He'd just spent the last ten minutes trying to calm Melanie down from all she'd read, while also trying to relax from the accusations he was receiving. "Thanks to my being in iCarly with you girls, they think I'm screwing around with both of you! They think Melanie is this _Golden_ actress only because she's your _twin_, Sam. So yes, it affects more people than you think it does!" Sam felt her heart sink as she turned to Melanie, who was looking away from her.

"Melanie, I didn't know…"

"No you didn't!" Melanie's voice snapped in anger as she twisted her head towards Sam. Sam took a step back from her sister, fear spread fast inside as Melanie's face twisted to pure anger. "You didn't even_ think_ about me! I have people who hit on me. I almost got kicked out of the student council before Freddie and I had to explain that I am _not_ part of _your_ mess!" Sam's heart pulsed as Melanie backed her against the locker, beating her down with every rage filled outburst she had. "Sam Puckett, I wish I wasn't your twin!"

"Melanie!" Sam's eyes widened and Freddie placed his hand upon Melanie's shoulder. Sam felt the wind rush out beneath her as she watched her sister trying to calm down. Melanie's chest heaved and her fists clenched tightly.

"Melanie relax, don't start a fight right now…" Melanie brushed him off and continued to glare into Sam's eyes. She had her weakened, beat down, but she wasn't through yet. She still had more anger, more rage inside of her. She wasn't one to lash out, and she wanted to bottle everything up inside, but the pain was too much for her to bear.

"No Freddie, I'm not done." She pushed her index finger against Sam's chest, her eyebrows pressed sharply together and her voice raised. "How can you do this to me? I know you weren't _trying_ to hurt me, but don't you get that we are _identical?_"

"Mel, you can talk to her without yelling…"

"No!" Melanie turned to Freddie and pointed at her. "She has to understand that she messed up! People even think you're part of their whole porn ring! That's painful for you as it is for me, you know! I know you didn't do anything with them, but the pain of having to hear the accusations over and over again…it's enough to make a girl insane! She doesn't even _know_ how it must feel to-"

"Melanie, calm down." Freddie spoke with more of a stern tone. He understood what she was feeling, and he had plenty of words he wanted to say to the girls as well, but he thought better of it. "It won't matter _what_ you tell them." Melanie frowned as the two girls gazed in wonder at Freddie. He slowly looked at them, his accusing and bitter glare pierced them like swords in the heart. "Once a porn star, always a porn star. They won't change just because you're hurt." Carly pressed her lips together and Sam's eyes quivered with resentment. Freddie took Melanie's hand and motioned with his head. Sam slowly sank to the ground as the couple walked away.

"He's wrong Carly, he's wrong." Carly looked at Sam, who was shaking her head. Her heart was pounding, her body aching. She was wounded and in extreme pain. "It's not a matter of _won't_ change, because we can if we _want_ to, right?" Carly slowly nodded, shrugged, then looked off into the distance.

"It's the addiction, Sam. Here let me help you up…" Carly took Sam's hand and pulled her up. A flash erupted behind them and they quickly turned to see a student for the school newspaper grinning at them. They gasped as he pocketed his camera.

"This is going to be great news! The stars of iCarly turned lesbian porn stars!"

"No!"

"Get back here, punk!" Sam growled as the student began running off. She roared with anger and chased after him. There was no reason for him to be taking photos, no reason at all. Seeing that this could only end badly, Carly chased after her.

"Sam wait! Just let it go!" The student ran into a classroom. Just as Sam was about to reach the door, Ms. Briggs stepped out. The two girls stopped and felt her cold eyes upon her. The teacher grinned mischievously and crossed her arms over. What barbaric things would she throw at them this time? "Crap."

"Hello Samantha, Carly, how are you today?" She smiled sweetly and placed her hands upon their shoulders. The girls swallowed hard and glanced at each other. "How would the two little whores of Ridgeway feel about detention after school?"

"Oh come on! We didn't do anything!"

"Oh I can find something." She smirked maliciously and the girls soon felt the fear hitting them hard. There was no escaping Ms. Briggs when she chose to discriminate against a student. "So if you had any pornographic plans after this, then too bad. You'll have to cancel them." Sam rolled her eyes and groaned, but Carly merely smirked back at the teacher.

"That's fine, I can still do something in the detention room, just you watch. Do you really want that to happen?" The teacher narrowed her eyes and clutched Carly's face. Sam merely closed her eyes and winced.

"The second you little sluts try anything, I'll hang your asses up to dry. You don't want to mess with me, believe me. I _will_ make your life miserable."

"As if you don't already…" They did give the teacher credit where it was due, she would and probably could make their life much worse now than before.

Freddie and Melanie sat against a wall of one of the lunchroom, Melanie was trying her best not to cry and Freddie held his arm around her shoulders. Melanie was truly handling the whole situation better than he thought she would, and he needed to be strong for her. The girls were in deep shit, but right now, Melanie was more important than they were. "Melanie, you know I'm not one to just stop being friends with your sister, because granted, those two are, or…were my friends. I don't think it would be wise for you to never talk to her again."

"No Freddie, I don't want to hear that right now. I can't hear it…" He nodded his head and looked at a nearby table. His heart ached for her, and truly, he did feel sorry for the girls. A boy student walked up to Freddie, he smiled and Freddie slowly stood up when he met his eyes.

"What's up Justin?"

"I just wanted to say, I have always admired you." Freddie raised his eyebrow and Melanie rolled her eyes, scoffing and speaking scornfully.

"Here we go." He glanced at her with question, then looked back to Justin. Justin beamed and his white teeth shone brightly.

"Not only were you the tech producer for iCarly, but you _must_ have had a piece of that too! Did they ever give you that?" Freddie paled and Melanie rose up, she was ready to smack this kid around for even suggesting something like that. The boy looked at her and frowned. "Oh hey Melanie, what's up?" Her chest heaved and she took a step towards him. Freddie swallowed hard and quickly grasped the back of her shirt just as she started to charge Justin. "Ah! Hey!"

"You asshole! Freddie is _my_ boyfriend and he's _never_ touched those girls!"

"Whoa calm down!"

"Let me go Freddie!" She screeched and clawed at Justin. If she didn't tear this boy's face off, she wasn't going to be pleased.

"Melanie, relax!" Freddie pulled her back and quickly pulled her into a hug. She yelled sharply and started to pant as he tightened his grip around her, preventing her from being able to move. He looked at Justin and narrowed his eyes sharply. "Justin, I've never done anything with Sam or Carly. Okay? I'm more of a respectable person than that."

"Oh, okay then…" Justin raised his eyebrows and slowly shook his head. Freddie was a valuable member of the school. He was president of the AV club and a strong member of KEY Club. "I guess it doesn't matter, I still was sent to deliver a message to you." Melanie fought Freddie once more and he let out a grunt as she stepped on his foot. It mattered not, he simply tightened his grip and wasn't releasing her.

"Melanie!" Justin watched with amusement as Melanie continued to struggle. After a minute, her body finally gave in and she fell limp into his arms. She wasn't going to fight any longer. Freddie took a deep breath as she tilted her head back and rested it against his left shoulder. "Sorry I have to restrain you, Mel…"

"It's fine Freddie." She knew it was best that he did. After all, violence never solved anything. She closed her eyes and took a very deep breath, trying to relax her shot nerves. "Justin. What's the message?" Justin rubbed the back of his head nervously and met Freddie's concerned eyes. Justin was the secretary of the AV club, he was always the one who passed on the good or the bad news.

"Freddie Benson, you still associate with those girls. It uh…I'm telling you this from both the Key Club and AV club." The corners of Freddie's lips frowned and Melanie froze up, she knew what this meant. Justin closed his eyes and pushed his hands into his pockets. "The members voted and as long as you associate with the girls, it leaves a bad reputation. We simply _can't_ have a high member of our board coming under scrutiny like that. I guess what we're saying is…unless you can affirm that you don't have anything to do with those women sexually, then you're going to be barred."

"W-What?" Freddie's eyes widened and Melanie slowly glared at Justin. He jumped back after catching her glare. All the anger was shooting back through her, and Freddie could tell. During this time, his grip had softened. She started to lunge, and Freddie's arms quickly re-locked around her, stopping her. "You can't be serious? They're going to kick me off? But we graduate in nearly two weeks! If they kick me off…"

"Then you won't receive the honors from either group when you graduate. You will have been dishonorably discharged. It could also cost you the ability to be at your graduation ceremony…" Melanie cupped her hand with her mouth. An apologetic look shot through Justin's eyes as he shook his head and turned around. "I'm sorry, Freddie." Freddie looked at Melanie, no expression was on his face. What could he say? What could be done? Justin walked off and Freddie backed himself up against the wall. Melanie frowned and softly placed her hand on his shoulder, but he couldn't feel her.

He sank to the ground, his eyes blank and a certain unpleasant emptiness washed over him. He could lose his scholarships, he could lose everything. He'd worked so hard to achieve where he was at, too much to just lose it all for the mistake of his friends. Friends that he'd known for so many years.

Numb, that was how he felt. That was how Melanie felt. Sam and Carly felt it as well, while being led to their classrooms by Ms. Briggs. Passing the lunchroom, their eyes met with Freddie's. In a single moment of disgust and anger, Freddie quickly looked away from them.

Rejection. Like a knife to their hearts. Their eyes went blank and the teacher continued to push them away while Carly called out to Freddie. He did not respond.

Did he really know them? Did he _really_ know them? Melanie knelt next to him and placed her arm around his shoulders, resting her right hand on his right leg. She looked into his eyes, searching for life, then rested her forehead on his shoulder. Not much could be said, she could think of nothing. Her life could be ruined, her life could be over. His life could be over. She had been contacted by the admissions office of her favorite college and told the same basic thing as Justin said to Freddie. She could be denied acceptance, unless she provided the proof that she was _not_ involved in her sister's lifestyle.

Silence surrounded them, bleak and empty. Why would this happen to them? Were they cursed? There was only one thing Freddie could even think of doing, and it hurt him. What were they going to do for iCarly? Was there a future in it? If he continued it, he could lose everything. This week they were _supposed_ to do another funny cowboy skit with Sam as the cowboy and Carly as a ditzy cheerleader admiring the cowboy's horse, thinking it was a anteater. Now, Freddie couldn't see it. No, just because he was the cameraman for iCarly, it must mean he _had_ to be banging one of the girls, or both. It disgusted him and if he continued, he might fill up with bitterness. The clubs were voting Thursday on important matters, and this was surely to be one of those matters.

"I have to make a decision, Melanie. A hard one…" Melanie pressed her lips and slowly nodded her head. She could tell what he must be thinking about. The whole thing with what Justin said was just too depressing. She would support Freddie no matter what. "I don't know what's going to happen to your sister, or to Carly, but Melanie…I'm always going to stand by you. I don't have to make a decision on that." A tender smile graced her lips as he placed his hand on hers.

"I'll stand by you no matter what, Freddie. I love you."

"I love you, Melanie." She sat next to him and huddled close, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder. "You know I've never-"

"I know. You don't see them like that, you don't have to convince me of that. I believe you without any doubts at all."

"Thank you. I don't know what I'm going to do about iCarly…"

"You could lose everything if you continue to work with them."

"I know…" He clenched his eyes shut and she squeezed his hand gently. She was soothing the aching pain inside of him to the best of her ability. Maybe he should ask Jonah what he thought of the whole thing. Jonah actually wasn't too sure iCarly was going anywhere, anyway. Maybe the girls could find another producer for iCarly, or maybe not. Gibby himself might be thrown under fire, due to his involvement with iCarly. Anyone could see that, and anyone that worked with the girls might not want to fall under fire. "People are going to start avoiding them like the plague, Mel."

"Yeah, I know…even I can't stand to be around Sam right now. I have too much to work for…I don't want people to keep thinking that _I'm_ involved in that filth."

"Melanie, would it be better for you if…if I stayed away from them for a while?" She frowned and felt her heart pulse. She couldn't ask him to do that. She needed that, she needed him more than anything now due to all the horror she was experiencing because of this, but she couldn't ask him to stop communicating with them.

"I won't ask that, Freddie. Never." He understood, but he could see it in her eyes. She needed him, she wanted him with her. To him, she was the most important person in his life. More important than Sam, Carly, iCarly, his mother, his best friend, anyone or anything.

"I see." He closed his hands and slowly stood up. Melanie looked up at him, rising to meet him. "I've made my decision, then." He wasn't sure how his decision would be met, the reactions of everyone around him, but he knew the one thing that mattered was not only how he felt, but how Melanie felt. He had to pull their names _out_ of this situation somehow. No matter his reputation, he could end that easily by changing a few things, but Melanie could never change herself unless she took drastic measures to get plastic surgery. She would be dealing with mistaken identity for a long time, and he _needed_ to be there to catch her when her world seemed to crumble down because of it. "Melanie, you are the most important person to me."

* * *

><p>So all hell's broken loose at the school and Ms. Briggs has carted the girls away. By the way I never did say, Douglas was the new name of Carly's boyfriend, due to a conflict of names with one of Sam's cousins. Anyway, stick around for the next chapter, where we will see Douglas again.<p> 


	8. Life of Sin

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8 (Life of Sin)<p>

Douglas made his way to the detention room where Ms. Briggs was watching the troublemaking students like a hawk. He stopped outside the door and peered into the window at Carly. Groaning, he gripped his camera and looked at a set of lockers in front of him. What was he going to do? He and Carly were supposed to do a shoot after school. He narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to figure something out. Maybe they could use this to their advantage, they'd never done something in detention. The actor they chose for this scene could be on board, who knows. Hell, if Sam was in the detention room, maybe she could participate somehow. Probably not, considering she didn't want to risk getting an STD from Carly or anyone who has sex with Carly.

If he could just get in there to talk to the girls, then maybe they could figure out what was going on. He glanced to the right and spotted a muscular black haired man with his hair in a ponytail, it was the actor. He was about two years older, and had a very chiseled face. "Douglas, what is the hold up here? Don't we have a video to shoot?" The man crossed his arms and Douglas grimaced for a split second before looking into the room.

"My lady is in detention, Rick. I need to talk to her." Rick's eyebrows rose slightly as he stepped closer to the door. The teacher inside seemed very attentive of the girls, but it was possible for her to be distracted. "I'm not sure how I'm going to get in there. That's Ms. Briggs, she won't let anybody in unless they have detention."

"So why don't you get detention?" Douglas chuckled at the thought, thinking it too ridiculous. Then again, Ms. Briggs really was trigger happy when it came to such matters. "Better yet, I can get her out of the room for a while."

"You can? How?" Rick smirked momentarily and placed his hand on the doorknob. Douglas's eyes widened as he started to open the door. He tried to stop him, but it was too late. Rick already opened the door all the way and stepped inside the room. Everyone glanced up at him and Ms. Briggs stood from her seat. "Hey Ms. Briggs, name's Rick Patterson. I want to talk to you about my younger brother, he's in your class."

"Oh?" The teacher walked over to him. She was curious, who was this man and who was his brother? She'd never seen him before. Although, she did have a student named Yancy Patterson, he was a troublemaker, but then, they all were troublemakers. "Well then, come talk to me in my office." Rick nodded as Briggs turned around and instructed the students to stay put while she went to talk with Rick. Carly recognized him as the actor Douglas found and lifted her eyes upwards, grinning only slightly. He winked at her and proceeded to follow Ms. Briggs down the hallways.

Once clear, Douglas slipped into the room and Carly's eyes quickly fell on him. The other five students in detention eyed him with bewilderment as he made his way over to Sam and Carly. As he ran his hand through his hair, he lifted up his leg and rested his foot upon the desk. "Hey girls, what's going on?" Carly moved to sit on her desk, resting her feet in her chair as she leaned back slightly and gripped the edges of the desk.

"Nevel posted the wrong thing online, revealed that Sam and I were internet porn stars. So now the whole school knows and Ms. Briggs is on the warpath." Douglas winced and breathed in sharply. He knew the searing agony of what would happen if the school had found out, and it happened still. "I could have _avoided_ it, Douglas! I could have stopped all this from happening! He sent me the wrong video in an email, then that damn alert for his site popped up…I could have stopped this, but I was too ignorant of it." She turned her eyes to Sam and frowned, she could already see the distress in her friend and wished that maybe they had thought twice about having ever recruited Sam. They did everything together, though. It hadn't seemed right to not include her in such a luxurious life.

Sam glanced up from the sheet of paper she'd been writing on, actually doing some homework for a change. Douglas glanced at her, then back to Carly, he didn't have in mind for Sam to participate in anything. "Carly, I know what might make you feel better." His girlfriend wiped her watery eyes and lifted her shoulders up slightly. She was curious now, what could he have in mind? Then it struck her and her eyes widened, her lips slowly curled upwards as her thoughts turned to the irresistible. Douglas recognized the grin on her face and flashed his own grin. "Yeah that's right, we still have to shoot that video. Once Rick gets back…"

"Awesome, but we have to be careful! I could get expelled." Sam raised her eyebrow and glanced back at Carly. She wasn't paying a lot of attention to this conversation, her mind was on other thoughts. Though when Carly said she could get suspended or expelled, that was not good at all, she could lose the right to graduate with the rest of the class!

"Don't worry baby, we'll be careful. I'm sure Rick has something in mind. Now…" Douglas tapped his chin and got up from the desk, eyeing the rest of the kids in detention. Now that he was up, they were watching him closely, unsure of what was going to happen next. They didn't want to be sitting there if the two were about to have sex, because they didn't want to be involved in something like that, nor had any desire to be scarred in such a way. "What do I do with these kids." He knew he was also at risk of being expelled, but the life was too glamorous to worry about.

"Douglas." He looked back to his girlfriend. Carly was now standing next to the desk with a somber expression on her face. "We should not include Sam in this, okay? I told Spencer and Sasha last night that I would leave this alone, just to appease them. They're not too happy about me still being friends with Sam, but they didn't say anything about _that_. Her family, however, doesn't want her near me."

"Shit, that's harsh." Suddenly Rick came rushing into the room, laughing. Everybody scattered, jumping in surprise. Douglas placed his hand over his chest and sighed. "Dude! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry man, I'm just hurrying. Ms. Briggs is asleep on her desk and I locked her in her room." He managed to put a sleeping pill in her coffee when she wasn't looking, then took her keys after she fell asleep. "There's little chance of her getting out when she wakes up, but I suggest we make this fast." Carly lifted her eyebrows, stunned by the news of her teacher sleeping on the job. "I slipped a sleep aid into her drink." Douglas laughed and turned to face the others.

"Okay then, the teacher's asleep, all of you _leave_ now!" The nervous students eyed each other, then hesitantly moved from the desks. As they passed Carly, they uttered names at her, calling her a whore and a slut. She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, ignoring their remarks. Sam swallowed hard and stood up, she personally didn't want to participate in this, but Rick was _hot_. It was taking a lot to resist this urge. Douglas cleared his throat and jerked his thumb to the door. "You too Sam, we don't want you in here right now. Get moving."

"But-"

"Go. We'll hit you up for a video shoot with someone later, all right? You'll get your cut then." Sam slowly nodded and quickly exited the room.

Once outside, she heard Rick lock the door. She wouldn't be getting back in that room anytime soon. Ignoring the longing and the lust inside of her, she started to make her way down the hall. After a minute of walking, she spotted Freddie and Melanie walking around the corner. They stopped when they spotted her, immediately the tension pierced the trio. Freddie had no idea what to say, he didn't even want to talk to Sam right now. Sam gave a weary smile and tried to meet Melanie's eyes, but her sister averted them. "Melanie come on, you have to talk to me some time…"

"No thank you. Your life is ruining ours, Sam. Freddie might be kicked out of the clubs he's in!" Sam gasped and Melanie's fiery eyes turned to her. She was dumbfounded, speechless as it was. She knew well the ramifications of Freddie being removed from those clubs, it just meant he wouldn't get the scholarships from them. "Now we're not even sure what to _do_. The college I'm trying to get into thinks I'm _you!_"

"But you're not…"

"I know! I'm just your twin." She folded her arms over as Sam leaned against a wall and tapped the back of her head against it. She didn't think her sister needed to _hate_ her. Sure things didn't look good, but at least they could fix their lives up, couldn't they? Melanie narrowed her eyes and scowled at Sam. "Besides all that, aren't you supposed to be in detention?"

"Uh, yeah…" Sam chuckled nervously and heard Ms. Briggs shout out from around the corner. Her eyes widened and her heart froze, panic spread over her as the elderly teacher and a janitor started around the corner. Her eyes met the teacher, who scowled at her and continued to run. Melanie's jaw fell open and Freddie watched the teacher depart down the hallway. "Shit…Douglas and Carly are in there with Rick."

"Rick? Who's Rick?" Sam gave her a sad look and her sister understood it all. Melanie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Really? Is it that bad that they would do it on school grounds? Jesus, Principal Franklin is already thin with you and Carly now because of the videos!"

"What? He is?"

"Yes." Melanie worked as an assistant for the secretary and was there this morning when the Superintendent came into the office. Out of curiosity, she listened in and found the two men arguing over Carly and Sam. Principal Franklin would have to separate himself from them for professional reasons. He didn't like it, but if he wanted to keep his job, he couldn't be as close to them as he was. Melanie's brow furrowed and she shook her head pitifully at her twin. "Why did you do this, Sam? Tell me that. You say money reasons, but you _know_ if you needed money, all you had to do was ask mom and dad. Don't you know this is killing everybody?"

"Well Douglas should have never shown you the site then." Sam crossed her arms over and turned away, but that pissed Melanie off further.

"Sam! Can't you just be honest with me for once?"

"It's just a lifestyle, there's nothing devastating about it!" Sam turned back to her sister and her arms fell to her sides. Melanie slammed her foot on the ground and glared in response, causing Freddie to jump a bit and watch his girlfriend nervously.

"You don't know that! You don't see what it's doing! Mom and Dad are beside themselves, I have to deal with scrutiny for _your_ actions! Freddie could lose everything! You could lose everything!"

"I haven't lost anything yet…" Sam closed her eyes and Melanie silenced, feeling the wind kicked from her. Freddie's eyebrows rose as Melanie spoke in almost a whisper, closing her eyes.

"Is that what you think?" Sam looked away and met Principal Franklin's eyes as he walked down the hall in a hurried rush. Perhaps he was going to meet Ms. Briggs now. She saw him close his eyes and look away from her. Her eyes fell downwards as she felt the biting pain inside of her. "Because you've seen nothing yet…" Melanie slowly closed her hands. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and her chest was slowly rising and falling with each breath she was taking. "Maybe you haven't lost anything, if you're so vain to think that."

"I'm not vain, Mel."

"Right." She laughed dryly and Sam tried to hide the pain. She was on the verge of tears, but fighting with every ounce of her strength. "Well as of this moment Sam. You've lost a sister." Sam's eyes widened as the words rattled her, shook her, smacking her around. She turned her fearful and nervous gaze upon Melanie, who looked about ready to leave. Mel couldn't take any more of the pain, she loved Sam, but she hated what was happening.

"W-What? You can't mean that."

"We might be twins, maybe we're related…" Freddie swallowed and placed his hand on Melanie's shoulder, but she shrugged it off, shaking her head in a slow motion. He wasn't going to calm her right now, he wasn't going to keep her from speaking her mind. Sam's eyes quivered as she watched Melanie turn her back to her. "But you've lost a sister. See you whenever you get home. I'm sorry, goodbye."

"M-Melanie?" Melanie took Freddie's hand and they started to walk off. "Melanie wait!" Freddie hadn't taken one look at Sam the entire time. Her heart ached, it was slowly being torn to threads. "It's just a stupid lifestyle! Melanie! Melanie come back here!" Her sister's departing form struck her, hitting her, crushing her like a steamroller over a small can. Her eyes began to water. She hated tears, hated them with a passion.

"Fine." She muttered under her breath as she wiped her tears away. "I don't care if you hate me. This lifestyle is like a drug, it gives me loads of money, you just don't see how good that could be…" She rejected the pain, ignored it because it was too much for her to bear. She turned away and slowly made her way to the front door, wondering if she should wait up for a later video shoot somewhere else. She wasn't feeling up to it at the moment, to be perfectly honest, and was sure it would give her a good amount of spending money for the day, but she wasn't concerned about that. It might make her feel better, as she felt insanely shitty right now. Maybe if the actor was good enough, she might feel better, but in the long run, she wanted to just relax for the rest of the day. "Guess we'll just worry about iCarly for now." She paused for a minute, then smiled brightly. She knew what iCarly meant, it meant Freddie _had_ to talk to them at some point! "Freddie will talk then, I'm sure. We still have to plan iCarly!"

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><p>Damn, harsh. Poor Sam, acting like she doesn't care and that she's fully accepting of her lifestyle. Maybe she is, who knows. Next chapter is pretty intense, stick around.<p> 


	9. Freddie Quits

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9 (Freddie Quits)<p>

Freddie and Melanie entered Spencer's apartment and found Sasha sitting on the couch watching a documentary with Marissa. The two looked up and smiled at the couple. Sasha was the first to speak up. "Hey Freddie, Melanie, how was your day at school?" Melanie groaned and Sasha raised her eyebrow, evidently the day was not all that great. Marissa rose from the couch and moved over to them. Sasha remained seated, but had a very concerned look on her face. "What's the matter? It couldn't have been all that bad of a day, could it?" Knowing she didn't want to talk about it, Freddie decided to talk about how the day went.

"You guys know about Sam and Carly, right?" Marissa nodded her head and Sasha pressed her lips together, slowly rising from the couch and flipping the television off. She had explicitly told Carly to promise she'd stay away from pornography, and Carly did, so she told Spencer what the young girl said. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing, due to the fact that Spencer had run out of the apartment in a fit of rage only twenty minutes ago. Now with this news, she was a bit worried about Carly. As for Marissa, she didn't want Freddie to be too involved with Sam and Carly now, but she didn't have a problem with Melanie, due to the fact that the two had become good friends with each other since Freddie started dating her. This also gave some leeway where Sam was concerned, but she wanted the girl to do what was right and not be involved in the porn industry. "Every student in school seems to be chastising them now."

"Seriously?" Sasha walked over to the group and crossed her arms over, narrowing her eyes slightly. "And what's the last you've heard of them? Spencer just went flying out the door about half an hour ago, saying Carly got into some sort of trouble at school. They didn't say what happened though." Melanie gasped and Freddie felt his heart sink, they didn't want to be the ones to tell Sasha that Carly was having sex during detention. They didn't want to be the ones to inform her that her trust had just been busted and a deal shattered. Sasha's face softened a bit and she let out a soft breath of air. "Spencer's been really torn up about this. He doesn't even know what to do and blames himself for what Carly's turned to."

"Well he shouldn't blame himself, Sasha. It's not his fault about what happened."

"Yeah…" Marissa glanced over at the kitchen and smiled sadly.

"Would you two like a glass of water or something? We made some cheese balls for snacks if you'd like some." Melanie smiled slightly and lifted her hand up. As much as she loved those, she wasn't in the mood to eat. They'd called Gibby over and were planning on doing other things.

"Thanks for the offer, but we'd rather wait out on that." Freddie nodded, agreeing with Melanie. The elevator opened and the women looked over to see Gibby walking out.

"Okay, so what's so urgent that you guys called me over here?" Marissa lifted her eyebrows and walked to the kitchen while Sasha turned her gaze back to Melanie and Freddie. She was beginning to wonder what was going on with them, they sounded so sad. "And what's with all the crazy stuff that was going down at school today? All this about Carly and Sam being involved in porn or something?"

"It's all true, Gibby." Gibby raised an eyebrow as Freddie moved towards him and rested his hand upon his shoulder, looking sternly into his eyes. "Carly and Sam are involved in it, and my reputation is at risk because I'm their tech producer. They think I'm involved with the girls."

"What? No…you're not involved with them!"

"I know that, you know that, Melanie knows that, anyone that _knows_ us knows that. Now your reputation hasn't been hit yet, but I'm warning you…if you remain involved with iCarly, you could very well lose a lot of your own reputation. I was told today that if I didn't prove that I wasn't involved with them somehow and if I remained involved with them, I'd be kicked out of the clubs I'm in. I could lose my scholarships that they offer." Gibby gasped and Marissa paled, nearly dropping a tray she'd just pulled from the oven. They were making dinner. Sasha cupped her mouth and Freddie gestured his hand to Melanie. "Even she has to tell her college that she's not involved in the industry. Since she looks so much like Sam, they just want to be sure…"

"And I hate it!" Melanie shouted out abruptly. Sasha frowned as she pulled her hair and growled. "I'm cursed! Do you know how many people were hitting on me at school today? How many disgusting strangers hit on me when I'm out walking? I'm afraid to even walk these streets alone because of her!" Everyone looked at Melanie sadly and her face softened just a bit. "So we're here to shoot a video on iCarly…and I was hoping that maybe you and Mrs. Benson wouldn't mind doing something for me."

"What's that sweetie?"

"I decided this on the way here. I want you to dye my hair and cut it, and maybe later help me find some glasses." Sasha frowned and looked at Freddie for help, he couldn't offer any. He'd tried to talk Melanie out of it earlier, but she was so adamant about her decision that he could do nothing. As for the glasses, Melanie had less than perfect vision and used contacts to see better. She normally hated glasses, but now she had no choice in her mind. "I don't want people mistaking me for my sister anymore, Sasha. I know you and Mrs. Benson are good with hair, so maybe…I just thought you two could help me there. I got the okay from Mom. Though right now, she may not really know what's going on because of all this crap."

Marissa and Sasha exchanged nervous glances while Freddie moved his eyes over to Gibby. The women would most certainly help Melanie out, there wasn't a reason not to. They had some hair dye, as Marissa was a part time nurse and a part time beautician. Marissa reached for Melanie's hair and lifted it up a bit. "What color do you want? I can bring you a good selection."

"I was thinking maybe brown with honey highlights." Marissa gently tapped her chin and looked at Sasha for a second opinion. Honestly, the look could look good on Melanie if she had shorter and straighter hair. Perhaps they could style it, make it feather out at the bottom just beneath the chin. Sasha nodded her head and smiled lightly.

"I think it can work."

"Then it's settled, I'll be right back with the equipment." Marissa left the apartment and went into her own in search of the materials. She knew she should have a wide variety of highlights and the brown hair color. Gibby raised his eyebrows and looked to Freddie, still wondering what he was doing here. He needed answers, he needed to know which way he was going.

"Okay, so you guys said in your message you were shooting a video?"

"Yeah Gibby." Freddie leaned against a wall as Sasha and Melanie moved over to the couch to discuss the types of glasses she might be looking for. Sasha worked as an optometrist, so she could easily help Melanie with that, and get her discounted glasses. Freddie smiled at the women, then looked back to him. "This video is where Melanie gets her makeover. Not only that, but the main subject of this video is us denying having anything to do with Sam and Carly, their lifestyle. Also, I'm leaving iCarly. We need you to be the cameraman for a bit."

"What?" Gibby felt like a balloon getting deflated, all the air slowly being knocked from him and the color draining from his body. "You're quitting iCarly?"

"You should too. Look at this…" Freddie dragged Gibby over to the computer and started typing. He closed his eyes as Gibby stared nervously at the screen. After a few various clicks and words typed, the screen was on a porn site showing numerous thumbnails of both Sam and Carly. Gibby's eyes went wide and he cupped his mouth, turning green and feeling as though he were to puke. Sasha and Melanie watched them with sadness.

"Oh my god, they…that's _real?_" He hadn't wanted to believe all of that were real, he hadn't wanted to think that two of his closest friends could possibly be involved in such a seedy lifestyle. How could this be? "Take it off, please, take it off."

"No, you have to believe what you're seeing." Freddie could tell in Gibby's eyes, he was denying it. He refused to believe that it was really Carly and Sam. Gibby moaned as he stared at the screen in disgust for a moment, then turned away. His heart shattered. The girls had clearly lied to them for who knew how long. Freddie clicked off the screen and placed his hand upon his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to see it like that. Believe me, none of us wanted to see it, and none of us expected it. It's a hard thing to have to go through, to have to discover, and now that their secret is out, it's killing everybody. Personally, mentally, and even for business reasons. As you see, I have to quit iCarly, I have to uphold my reputation. Melanie wants a makeover, and she has to try and convince her college that she's not Sam. Which shouldn't be hard to do, but either way…it's hell for all of us. My advice to you, is to do what you want to do, but be aware that your reputation will also be at stake. You're closer to the girls when we shoot the videos, physical contact is almost always initiated, so chances are…you'd get hit pretty bad by accusations."

He realized this, and of course Freddie was right. There was no way around it, he needed to leave iCarly and stay away from the girls for a while. A tear rolled down his cheek and he slowly looked away. "I guess it gives me more time to go fishing with my dad over the summer and prepare for college."

"Yeah…so come on, let's do this video." Gibby wiped his eye and agreed. He wanted to preserve his reputation as well. "I've constructed several places to upload this video, and we're also sending it to a few of the colleges that aren't too sure about accepting us." Melanie and Sasha rose to their feet and Marissa entered the apartment.

Within minutes, everyone was in the studio setting up. Marissa had the sink ready and all her materials ready, along with the stuff needed to permanently straighten Melanie's hair. It was what she wanted, so it was what she would do. Soon, the video was started with Gibby behind the camera, Freddie and Melanie on chairs in the center. Melanie brushed her nose and closed her hands on her pants, gazing with a hardened face at the floor below. Gibby counted down and Freddie started speaking.

"Okay, so most of you know me as Freddie Benson. Sitting next to me is my girlfriend, Melanie Puckett." Melanie waved at the camera and rested her hand back on her lap. The nervous emotions were churning inside of her, she hated it. Freddie breathed in sharply and continued to speak, as they were live on the iCarly site. Gibby looked to the computer and frowned, already thousands of viewers were checking in.

"A lot of you know what's been going on with Carly Shay and Sam Puckett, and I am here to tell you that I have never been involved with those two girls, nor have I ever been involved in their lifestyle. Melanie, what about you?"

"I hate pornography, it disgusts me, and I wouldn't be caught dead around that life. It's not me, I am _not_ my sister. To prove it, I have my boyfriend's mom and a good friend, Sasha, here to give me a makeover. I don't want to even _look_ like my sister. She is only my twin, nothing more."

"Right." Freddie gave a brief nod and pointed towards Gibby. "Our cameraman today is Gibby. You all recognize him." Gibby turned the camera on himself and smiled briefly, then turned it back to Freddie. "As of today, none of us will ever associate ourselves with iCarly. I am resigning as cameraman for the webshow. Again I would like to add, I have _not_ had sex with those two women." He sneered a moment when he said that, the thought of having sex with either of them disgusted him. "Now, as you can see…" Sasha and Marissa stepped behind Melanie and placed their hand upon her shoulders. "Mom and Sasha will now do Melanie's hair."

It took a long time to do her hair, and during this time, Freddie and Gibby had continued to speak to the camera. They offered proof and evidence that neither of them had anything to do with the women. It was difficult, since there couldn't be much more than word of mouth, but they had found some things. They even gave a list of people who could vouch that they wouldn't be into something so shady.

Soon Melanie's hair was done. Freddie saw the finished project and his jaw dropped. Her hair was a silky, dark brown, with beautiful caramel and honey highlights. It was straight and feathered out at her chin. She was gorgeous! He slowly stood up and eyed her from head to toe. "Well, your hair is…it's _beautiful_." Melanie blushed and glanced over to see Sasha peering out the door. Freddie looked over curiously and cleared his throat. "Sasha, what's the problem?" She brought her head back in and looked over.

"Spencer's home. He and Carly sound like they're having an argument."

"I see." It wasn't much longer that Carly was storming up the steps. She charged into the studio and screamed out. Her eyes were puffy with tears and her throat felt raw. She'd just been expelled from school and wouldn't be allowed to graduate. Spencer was _pissed_.

"Freddie, what are you doing?" Her eyes drifted from Freddie to Melanie and she froze in shock. Melanie definitely had a different look going for her. She turned to the tray of new glasses that Sasha had one of her department workers bring, she already knew the type of lenses that Melanie needed. Melanie chose a thin wire framed glasses, lenses slightly oval in shape. She pushed them onto her face and smiled slightly, bearing some red lipstick. "Melanie? Is that really you?"

"Yeah it's me, I've gone for a more business look I guess, but I had to change my appearance. I want to get accepted into my college, I do _not_ want to be mistaken for my sister. You two sleep around all the time, god knows what's real and what's not about you!" It didn't help that Carly was already pretty upset, she didn't want to be yelled at by Freddie and Melanie. She'd already seen the video on her phone for a moment before Spencer took it away from her, telling her to listen to him.

"Okay…And Freddie, are you seriously quitting iCarly? We need you!" Freddie narrowed his eyes and swiped his hand through the air in denial.

"Sorry Carly, the moment you and Sam went into your little lifestyle, you killed everything. You've lost our respect and you've lost a cameraman. Along with a costar." Carly gasped and quickly turned to Gibby, who turned away from her. Once more, it was a dagger to the heart. "Do you understand what you two have done to us? Our lives could go to hell because of you two!"

"What are you going on about now?" Carly stepped close to Freddie and glared into his eyes, tapping her foot on the ground. "_I'm_ the one that just got expelled from school!"

"Yeah, because you and Douglas were whoring yourselves out during detention!" Carly's eyes widened and she clenched her hand. "Frankly that's probably all you do now, I wouldn't be surprised. Melanie's at risk with her college and I could be kicked off the AV Club and the Key Club because I'm being accused of having anything to do with you and Sam."

"Well you don't do anything with us, if you did, you probably wouldn't be such a prude."

"Hah! Is that what you think?" Freddie laughed and the others looked away from the two. He smirked dangerously and glared back into her eyes. "Carly Shay, I want nothing more to do with you. Do you understand?" Her body was shaking dangerously as Freddie took another step closer to her, standing just inches away. "Sam, I have to tolerate because she's Melanie's sister, but the respect I had for you two? It's gone. You're nothing anymore, _nothing_. Like a common prostitute, that's what you are Carly. You have no self-respect, no self-worth, and you're willing to _degrade_ yourself, and for what? Is it pleasure? Is it money? What _reason_ would you have to whore yourself out to several different guys like a common _slut?_"

"Shut up!" With a swift and steady hand, she smacked Freddie on the face. His eyes widened and Melanie cupped her hands over her mouth. Yeah, maybe he went too far, but he was simply talking from the anger that was inside of him. Nobody could deny what he was saying, because everyone knew it was all true. Freddie closed his eyes as Melanie stepped over to defend him, getting in Carly's face.

"You don't have the right to slap my boyfriend!" She pushed Carly and growled. Who was Carly to smack Freddie? She was nothing, she was nobody. "If he needs to be smacked around, _I'll_ do that, but not usually. How _dare_ you lay your filthy hand on him!" Carly stumbled backwards and roared as she pushed Melanie sharply.

"Leave me alone, bitch!" Melanie gasped and fell backwards. Freddie caught her arms and narrowed his eyes at Carly. Gibby was watching everything with a fearful expression, this was beginning to get too violent for them, fortunately he cut the video off before it started getting physical. He had turned the camera onto himself and said a farewell, stating that Freddie and Carly had to talk. Sasha and Marissa were about to step in, but it looked to them like the fight was about over.

Freddie cleared his throat, knowing that he overstepped the line. He helped Melanie up and kept her from attacking Carly again. The door opened and Spencer stepped into the room, he heard the shouts going on. He stared at Carly with a stern expression. Before he could say anything, Freddie spoke up. "Carly, I apologize for saying what I did, I had no business crossing over that line. However, I don't ever want you hitting my girlfriend, do you understand?" Gibby shrugged and flipped the video back on, maybe this would be a good enough farewell speech.

Carly shook with anger as Melanie stepped behind Freddie and crossed her arms. Nobody needed to know that a fight just took place here. Carly lowered her arms and continued to glare at Freddie. "So that's it? You're just going to leave? And what are we going to do about this week's iCarly?"

"I don't know. You'll just have to find someone else, because I won't be here. Ever. If not for the fact that you've put yourself online for god knows how long, it's your foul attitude that burns your first bridge here. You hit Melanie, and I'm gone. Yes, I'm sorry for calling you a whore, or for thinking you're a slut, but you know what? That's what most internet porn stars _are_. Now with that all said and done, Carly…" It was slowly dawning upon her that this was goodbye, that Freddie was seriously walking out that door and when he did, she would never see him again.

"You're leaving us?" The rejection hurt, it stung like the angry sting of a thousand wasps. "Just like that? You're giving up on us?"

"I'm sorry Carly." He took Melanie's hand and looked around the room. Marissa and Sasha had tears in their eyes, Gibby was shaking like a leaf, and Spencer appeared stonier than he'd ever appeared in his life. It must feel miserable for him, to have to be going through this with his little sister, whom he always believed was an honest girl. "This is goodbye, Carly. Don't call, I will not be there. Don't knock on my door, I won't be home." A soft whimper left her lips and her face darkened momentarily. How could he do this to her? How could he do this to Sam? How did he expect them to make it? Freddie turned to Gibby and took a few steps towards the camera. "That's enough, turn off the video, I think enough has been seen."

"Right, Freddie…" Gibby flipped off the video and Carly kept her back turned to everybody, facing the back wall. Tears dripped down her eyes as she listened to Freddie's footsteps walking out the door. Gibby looked at Carly one last time, then turned away. "Goodbye Carly. It's better this way, best that I stay away from you too. I don't want to lose all that I have going due to my involvement with you guys…I'm sorry, I really am." Carly turned her head down and closed her eyes tightly.

"Fine, just go. Just leave me." Gibby pressed his lips together and turned away, walking out the door with Freddie and Melanie. The door slammed shut and Carly's body jerked sharply. It was abrupt, it burned, like somebody had just stuck her in an oven and turned it on high. Now all she was left with was Spencer, Sasha, and Marissa in the room. They were not happy at all.

* * *

><p>Well that's the 9th chapter, 10th chapter will come up soon. Freddie's washed his hands of the situation, and he's going to be there for Melanie, that is most important.<p> 


	10. Spencer's Ultmatum

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This is going to deal with a very mature subject, and that is the crash that comes with being involved in internet pornography and prostitution. How it affects the family, friends, school, and so many things. I've had some help plotwise from Lanternfan. If you are not mature enough to deal with this adult subject (no there will NOT be _any_ lemons in this), then turn away now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10 (Spencer's Ultimatum)<p>

"Carly, what happened?" Sasha asked as she sat Carly on the couch. The girl's head looked like a ripe tomato and her eyes were puffier than they'd ever been. Couple that with the fact that Spencer was still not talking, it worried Sasha a bit. Carly folded her arms over and Sasha knelt beside her, gently resting her hand upon the girl's and searching her eyes. "You know you can talk to me. Tell me what happened at school."

Carly slowly looked to her brother. Spencer moved to the kitchen and leaned forward against the counter, placing his palms hard on the surface. He was in no mood to be witty, zany, crazy, artsy, or any of the other fun attitudes he was. "She disregarded our agreement earlier and was caught having a three way in the detention room." Carly flinched and Sasha closed her eyes, bracing for the emotional impact of Carly's betrayal. "She told us she would no longer continue that life, and look what happens! She gets expelled just before graduation!"

"Spencer, that's enough…" She slowly rose to her feet as Carly watched her closely. What more could happen? She took a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips. "Carly, why did you do this? You can't graduate now?"

"No…" Carly averted her eyes to the side and pressed her lips tightly together. She really wanted to take a shower. She knew she hurt both Sasha and Spencer today, but she couldn't even fathom being without such a luxurious life that internet porn gave her. "I was told by Principal Franklin that I would not be allowed to graduate with the rest of the class. I am also expelled, which means I can't go back to that school…ever. I know what I told you guys, and I'm sorry, but it's just too hard to simply quit that life." Sasha started to say something, but Spencer rushed around the corner and spoke first.

"How can it be that hard, Carly? You know, Granddad and I are keeping this arrangement so long as you can respect me! If you can't respect me as your brother then what is the point of this? Huh?" Carly gasped and her eyes widened, would Spencer turn his back on her? "And another thing, Sasha is pregnant, do you think I want to raise a kid in the same house as my porn star sister? No!" Carly's eyes shook as Spencer smacked his palm with the back of his other hand. "Why don't you tell me where I went wrong, because you haven't always been the most respecting of authority."

"Oh come on, name one time where I was disrespectful to you." Spencer narrowed his eyes and lifted his index finger.

"When both Mrs. Benson and I told you _not_ to go to that martial arts thing a few years ago, and you went anyway."

"You're _still_ on that?" Carly rose from the couch and glared into Spencer's eyes. He always held that in the back of his mind, it seemed. Never would he let her forget that time.

"Yes, I'm still on that! Let's not forget when you decided to throw me in your little 'experiment' box without telling me what you were doing. There's been plenty of other times as well where you've ignored my authority." Carly rolled her eyes and turned her back to Spencer, she didn't need to hear all this.

"I am a grown woman, Spencer. I'm an _adult_ now."

"Evidently one that flaunts herself all over the town!" Carly's jaw dropped and her eyes started to water. How could he _say_ that to her? Her heart sank and her body became hot. Sasha placed her hand on Spencer's shoulder and frowned. She didn't want to argue with him, she didn't want to instigate a fight but she also didn't want there to be any bad blood between them. Spencer scowled and shrugged her hand from his shoulder, continuing his fiery glare at Carly. Carly continued to glare back, ready to fight if necessary. What was Spencer going to do anyway? It wasn't like he'd just throw her to the wolves.

"Spencer. Carly. Please calm down." Sasha stepped in between the two siblings and placed her hand on Carly's shoulder, gazing softly into her eyes. "Carly, if you would go to your room and let me talk to Spencer in private. Please." Carly's chest heaved with the intensity of a balloon about to explode. She dropped her eyes to the border of the carpet and the wall and quietly walked towards the stairs, feeling Spencer's intense glare on her.

"Fine." Sasha took a deep breath as she watched Carly make her way to the top of the stairs and down the hall. Smiling softly, she turned to Spencer and placed her hands gently on his shoulder. He moved his eyes slowly to her soft brown gaze. Sasha tilted her head a little and watched his nostrils flare out.

"Spencer, I know it hurts. It hurts me too." Her cotton soft voice floated into his ears, almost instantly injecting the pressure in his head and taking it down slowly. His face softened. She could see his heart breaking, he was trying his hardest to not let that show, but it was too difficult for him to do. "Spencer baby, she's experimenting. I know it's bad."

"She can't be practicing that. Not in this house, not under my roof, and _definitely_ not around our child!" Carly poked her head around the corner, and frowned. Her heart pounded and her throat tightened as she watched the two together. Did her brother hate her now? Damn Nevel for that video, damn her for not catching the mistake when it happened. She turned away and pressed herself against the rough wall and sank to the floor. Spencer was adamant against her lifestyle, but what did she care. It brought money, it gave her something to do, and now that Freddie and Gibby left iCarly, she really had nothing to do. "We've given her a chance to stay out of that lifestyle, and she went and got herself _expelled_. She's not even allowed to graduate!"

"I know things are bad, but you have to think…she has no one else. She needs her brother." Spencer shifted his eyes towards the side and Sasha moved her head in an attempt to hold his gaze. He knew Carly wasn't going to be allowed into colleges now, she wasn't going to be able to graduate or get any kind of a job, which meant she wouldn't be moving out. He had a family to think about, he couldn't take care of a baby, a wife, and a porn star sister.

"No Sasha, I'm not having it." Spencer stepped away from her and walked towards the kitchen, placing his hands firmly on the light oak counter. His eyes narrowed as Sasha walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his back, resting her hand on the opposite shoulder. "Carly is not going to live under my roof if she is going to disrespect me like this. You of all people should know how that feels. Now I've shrugged off the majority of her attitude and behavior, but this…this…"

"I know baby…" This was the ultimate form of disrespect, the ultimate slap in the face, the ultimate 'fuck you' that Carly could have given him. Sasha understood how he felt, too, because her heart also wept. "Just give her another chance, Spencer. You're her brother, you love her." Spencer stared at the counter with a hardened expression. Now would be when he'd calm down by sculpting something, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to let her live under my roof and influence our child to be just as disrespectful to me as she is." He pushed himself from the counter and made his way towards the refrigerator. Sasha lowered her arm to the counter and tapped it gently with her fingertips. She watched with a saddened heart as Spencer opened the door and took out a can of soda. "Not once does she seem to acknowledge that I am more than just her brother, I am also the adult, the authority. What I say goes. She thinks she can bring random men in my house and do whatever she wants with them in _my_ bedroom! What does this say, Sasha?"

"I know…" Sasha glanced over at the stairs, unable to shake the feeling that they were being watched. Her eyes widened when she saw Carly duck back behind the corner. Carly placed her hand over her chest and her wet eyes were now releasing the burning fluid down her cheeks. She wasn't going to sit here and listen to her brother say she wasn't a good person. She was a good person! Sasha pressed her lips together and turned her gaze back to Spencer's. "Spencer, no more yelling please."]

"I wasn't yelling…" Sasha pressed her finger to her lips and tilted her head to the stairs. Spencer raised his eyebrows and glanced over, stunned to think Carly had been listening in. He set the soda on the counter and cleared his throat. "Carly Shay, come out here now, please."

Carly froze and stared at the wall in front of her with a shocked silence. Spencer ordered her down again and she immediately bolted down the steps, what was she going to do anyway? Ignore him? When he already thought she was being disrespectful to him? No, she couldn't do that. She stopped in front of Spencer, who had now moved next to Sasha, and gazed up into his fierce eyes. "What is it, Spencer."

"I'm going to make this very clear, Carly." Spencer closed his eyes and exhaled softly. What was the right decision here? He had to think about his child's future, not Carly. Carly could do whatever the hell she wanted to do with her life, but _not_ under her roof. He was not going to let her live with him and his child as long as she was parading around like a tramp. "You're eighteen now, that's true, _however_ as long as you live under my roof you are to follow my rules. Do you understand that?"

"I do…" She bowed her head and closed her hands up tightly. He wasn't going to kick her out, he wouldn't kick her out. She had nowhere to go. The more she told herself this, the more her heart started to rise up out of the muck it was in.

"Now as you know, Sasha and I are planning a move to a family house, we're thinking of bringing you along…" Carly slowly looked up and met Sasha's eyes, she was smiling sadly. She knew what Spencer was going to say, as they had already discussed it while Carly was at school. Reading her soon to be sister in law's eyes, Carly's heart began to sink and her body started to tighten with fear. "We have a child to think about, Carly. I don't think it would be wise for my child to grow up with its Aunt being a porn star and bringing random men to the house. It's a bad environment and it also makes you into a bad role model."

"I won't do it again, Spencer! I promise, I won't do that to your kid!" Carly would protest as long as she got what she wanted, she knew well enough that she didn't have anything she could do. Spencer was her only lifeline, minus her father who was still overseas. Spencer closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"That is also what you said this morning. You went back on your promise and you were expelled from school." Spencer opened his eyes up and folded his arms over his chest, staring with a mild anger into Carly's eyes. Her mouth was agape and she felt as though she were slowly dying. "I'm giving you one more chance, just one more chance. If I find out you're having sex in my house again, you're out." A gasp echoed from Carly's throat and silence soon followed. All that was heard was that of a steady pounding which came from her heart, any more and it might explode.

"Y-You're bluffing, you know I don't have anywhere to go." Spencer's nostrils opened and he slowly walked over to the couch, gliding his fingertip along the smooth surface of the end table. On the end table was a cream colored phone. "Carly, we spoke with granddad earlier today…"

"What?" Her eyes widened and she quickly looked to Sasha, hoping for some help, but the woman could offer none. It wasn't her fault, Carly understood that. Sasha was there for Spencer, she couldn't necessarily go against him. Not only that, but she too had to think about that baby she was carrying. Spencer turned his head back and glanced at Carly through the corners of his eyes.

"He's not too happy with your lifestyle either, but he agrees that you should be more respectful of authority and your lifestyle is a bad thing for my child to grow up in. He's willing to take you in on the condition you quit your lifestyle."

"You…" Her lip quivered and her hands began to sweat. She couldn't go to _Yakima_, not when all her friends and family were here in Seattle. She'd never see any of them again! "You can't be serious!"

"We've already discussed this, Carly. If you can't quit your lifestyle and you can't learn to respect me as more than just your brother, but your authority figure, then you will go live with Granddad and finish high school there. I clearly have screwed up in raising you, Carly."

"But I-" Her throat clenched and her jaw locked, she couldn't say anything. Her chest was heaving and she was about to explode. She couldn't just _quit_ cold turkey. She didn't _want_ to quit right now, she loved the fame it brought, the money always went to Sam though. Spencer's hardened eyes met hers and she knew she shouldn't protest any longer, he had the final word and not even Sasha could change his mind. If she fucked up again, it was off to Yakima, period. How could she quit though, she was addicted. "I understand, I will try my best to respect you…"

"Thank you Carly. Now…" He closed his eyes and relaxed his body, slowly loosening up. "From here on out I want you to be completely honest with myself and with Sasha, do I make myself clear there?" She clenched her teeth, she wanted to bite back and yell at him, but she knew it would only make matters worse.

"Yes."

"Okay. When was the last time…you brought any number of guys in this house and had sex? Preferably, the last time you did that shit on my bed." She swallowed hard and moved her head to Spencer's bedroom. The only reason she did some of her acts in there was because his bed was better than hers. She had the option too, because Spencer was away a lot now. Most of the time he was either sculpting or at school, he was returning to law school to be able to make more money and be something for his family. That left her with many opportunities, and she always seized the opportunity.

"Three days ago, it was my boyfriend and one other guy…" Sasha clenched her eyes shut and cringed, she was not sleeping in that bed now until she knew those sheets were _clean_. Spencer's face went blank and he stared at Carly with a cold silence. She felt the silence like a knife and quickly sprang to action. "I'll do whatever you want. Here, I'll change your bedding right now! I'll do the laundry for you!" He raised an eyebrow and watched as Carly ran into his bedroom. The couple watched for a minute, waiting in silence until Carly ran out with the all of the bedding and hurried towards the laundry room. Within five minutes, the washing machine was running and Carly was flipping Spencer's mattress over.

Spencer locked onto Sasha's eyes and frowned, he knew she wasn't too thrilled with the whole situation. He wasn't either, but at least she did understand why he had to do what he was doing. "Sasha, do you think I was too hard on her?" Sasha tipped her eyes to the floor for a brief second, then looked back to him, slowly shaking her head.

"I don't know, maybe you were, but maybe she wouldn't have listened to you if you weren't stern enough…" That was often his problem before, and he'd acknowledged that he needed to be harder on her. Never had he grounded her until that wrestling match, he had always joked around and was always fun-loving, so maybe that was why she never respected him, because she never saw him as authority in that sense. "I guess we'll have to see what she'll do…" She slowly smiled and took Spencer's hand in hers, holding his gaze. "I'm just glad you're giving her another chance to redeem herself."

He released a grunt and looked back towards his bedroom. He didn't want to kick Carly out, he really didn't, but he was just losing faith in her by now. "I'm a bit afraid to go looking at houses because I'm not sure if she'll stick true to her word this time."

"You have to trust her, Spencer." Sasha lifted her hand and placed it gently onto Spencer's cheek, she wanted him to relax. He was too tense. His lips turned downward, but his face softened with her touch.

"I'm trying, Sasha. I know she's my little sister and I'm trying my hardest to do right by both her and by you. If I didn't trust her completely, I wouldn't give her another chance. I'm just surprised Granddad didn't blow the whistle and say she was coming with him regardless." No, he really wasn't all that surprised now that he thought about it. Even the old man was feeling the effects of Carly's porn life, all of his poker buddies have started to chastise him because his granddaughter is a porn star. Word traveled too fast due to Nevel's mistake, but there was no stopping it now. "Maybe you're right Sasha, maybe she really will stop with the porn. I guess we'll just have to see…"

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><p>Yes, Spencer's conflicted between whether he's making the right choice or not. He does care about Carly, but he does have a child and soon to be wife to think about. Well that's the 10th chapter, the next should be up soon.<p> 


	11. Anger and Hatred

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 11 (Anger and Hatred)<p>

"We can't see each other anymore," Sam muttered as she and Carly walked towards the groovy smoothie. They were basically ostracized wherever they went, so they were certain that T-Bo wouldn't serve them. It wasn't like they _meant _to bring trouble anywhere. "My father doesn't feel it would be right for me to be friends with you when you're such a 'bad influence' on me."

"Please…" Carly rolled her eyes as she and Sam stepped in front of the shop. She had no intention of following Spencer's command to cease her friendship with Sam. "We're like sisters, how can they expect us _not_ to be friends?" Sam let out a dry laugh and closed her eyes, she was honestly beginning to feel the ramifications of the porn star ways. Perhaps, if she just took a small break, all the problems would go away? The thought of her family being so unaccepting of her lifestyle made her cringe with anger. It brought money in! Why couldn't they see the benefit of that? She lifted her eyes up as Carly pushed the door open for the groovy smoothie and walked in as though nothing was going on.

"What about you, Carly? Spencer told you to quit your lifestyle, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I have one last chance or he's threatening to throw me out, but he won't do that to me. I _know_ he won't." Sam pressed her lips together and followed her friend inside. It was a tough thing to think about, so tough that it was hard to believe their families would ever kick them out. As for her family, something really bad would have to happen for them to kick her out. Was that not the case? "Spencer and I are like your family is with you, we're just _that close_."

"But he's starting a family, Carls. Isn't Sasha pregnant?" Carly shrugged and felt the piercing eyes of the patrons upon her. Their gaze burned into her, freezing her blood. As if this bothered her, at least she was doing _something_ with her life. "Not only that, but you have to go through another year of high school thanks to your actions in detention the other day. Is Spencer really happy about that? Don't you think he'd want you to go to college and start your life?"

"Ugh, don't remind me…and my life is already set."

"Yeah, a career in porn," A voice stated scornfully. The girls looked to the table they had passed and saw Rueben staring at them with a spiteful glare. They'd not seen him in so long, they were honestly surprised to hear him. He turned his gaze to Sam, who shivered under him. "I'm amazed at you. I can't believe you wouldn't date _me_, but you were so willing to fuck a random stranger." Sam gasped at the blow and threw her hands up into the air.

"Why does everyone say that to us? Look, it's just a way to make money, okay! There's nothing wrong about it, nothing bad happened because of it!" Rueben folded his arms over and tugged his lips back in a smirk.

"And do you get to go to college?" Sam hesitated and felt herself sink as she looked to Carly for help. She'd been told by Principal Franklin that she would be mailed her high school diploma, she also had been denied acceptance into her college of choice. Not for poor grades, but for the revelation of their lifestyle. It hurt to not be able to attend, and Melanie hated her now because the lifestyle fucked her up badly, and she never actively participated in it. At least she was able to get into college now, though. "Did you see the latest iCarly? I did. Looks like Freddie and Melanie are through with you."

"What?" Sam's eyes grew and she looked back to Rueben, then to Carly, who merely closed her eyes and looked away. She didn't want to remember the fight that had taken place, it still felt like someone tore her heart into pieces. She'd not told Sam about it yet, but only because she was afraid to. Rueben lifted his medium sized smoothie cup from the table and stood.

"Freddie just quit iCarly and Melanie got a total makeover, they want nothing more to do with you two. At least it looks like they'll be able to move on with their lives. You guys, I'm not too sure about." Another hard blow, and it knocked the wind out of both girls. Carly growled and lines formed at her forehead as she stepped forward and smacked Rueben across the face.

"Shut up!" Rueben winced and placed his hand to his cheek, sucking the air in through his teeth. "Our lives are _fine_, and you know what? We're not about to just quit the lifestyle that quickly! Why? Because it's a good one, we make money, that's the whole thing about it!" Sam gazed helplessly at Carly, steel reeling over the words that Rueben had said. iCarly wasn't even supposed to film until tomorrow, why had Freddie shot it before then?

"C-Carly? Is it true?" Carly frowned and turned her eyes over to Sam. The blonde was trembling and her eyes were wide, she couldn't take the loss of a friend and a sister. She didn't think Melanie and Freddie had been serious when they confronted her in that hallway. "I didn't see Melanie last night, she never came home…"

"She was probably staying over with Freddie." Carly's voice softened and Rueben slowly left the building. He wanted no part of the girls' conversation. Her eyes dulled and a whimper slowly trailed from Sam's lips. "Yesterday, I caught Fredde and Gibby shooting a video with Melanie. Melanie was…she did get a makeover from Sasha and Mrs. Benson. It's true…she has different hair, glasses, a totally different look. Freddie and Gibby quit iCarly…saying it was better for them to not associate with us."

"Why? Why couldn't you tell me that?"

"I wanted to, but I couldn't think of how to tell you." Sam's hair began to stand on end as she slowly looked to the doors. She had to find Melanie, she had to talk to her, to ask if she really wanted to change herself this much. This change might piss off their parents as well. Too many things were happening, everything was beginning to become too fast for them. Carly's eyes trailed over to the front counter and she gasped in surprise when she saw Nevel hunched over it. "Oh my god! Sam, look, it's Nevel!"

"Nevel?" Suddenly the panic inside of her turned into rage as she turned her eyes upon the one that screwed everything up for them. Nevel turned his head to them and his eyes widened as Sam charged at him like a raging fire. Carly started to shout at her to stop, but it was too late. Nevel cried out as Sam grabbed his collar and slammed him against the counter. "How could you post that! Do you _know_ what you've done?"

"Yes, yes, it was a mistake! Stop this!"

"I know you wanted to kill iCarly, but this is a new low, even for _you!_" Nevel cried out and shoved his hands against the counter, trying to regain some sort of balance and to escape Sam's ferocious grip. "I hope you're happy!"

"Sam!" Carly quickly ran over to Sam and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. Sam roared with anger and met Carly's eyes. "It was a mistake on his part, honestly. It's my fault…"

"What?" Sam released Nevel and he quickly darted from Sam's reach and stepped behind Carly. He gripped his chest and took a deep breath.

"I got his message he sent me, which was his video blog. He sent the wrong videos to the wrong places by mistake…I could have alerted him, but I ignored him." Sam's eyes trembled in shock as Carly looked away from her, unable to look at her friend. She was ashamed to admit that she could have rounded all of this crap off. Nevel placed his hand on his neck and sighed.

"Mother confiscated my computer anyway." The girls looked to him, their eyebrows raising in surprise. He let out a shallow breath and closed his eyes. "Based on my involvement with iCarly and the research I had done, she said you were a bad influence. So one, I can't be seen around you, or even _talking_ to you, and two, I can no longer make my video logs. I have no more computer…I'm pretty sure she's got me under constant watch, too. I don't know that for a fact, but hell…what do you expect when your mother finds out that you've been talking to someone involved in porn? I'm really sorry for getting everything mixed up, I know that means nothing right now, but…" He looked to Sam, who simply crossed her arms and looked away from him. "If I could just go back and correct that mistake, I would."

"Oh my god, Nevel. I…I can't believe she'd do something like that. It's okay, though. I understand it was just a mistake on your part, don't feel bad about it…"

"I know, I'll be fine. Honestly, I'm more worried about you two." Sam frowned as Carly lifted her eyebrows, smiling politely. She wanted to tell him they would be fine, because honestly, what was really the worst that could happen? Spencer could threaten all he wanted, but he wouldn't do anything, she knew him too well for that. "I know you have to deal with a lot of things now…Honestly, I wouldn't even be here right now, if I were you. I just saw Melanie go into the bathroom just before you two came in."

"What?" Sam quickly became attentive and met Nevel's eyes curiously. "Mel's here?"

"Yeah, I had a hard time recognizing her with the glasses and the hair, but she's here. I don't think Freddie would let her get plastic surgery, but she might actually want to do that for all I know…It must be hard to be a twin to a porn star."

"How would you know?"

"I've researched it…" Nevel moved back to his stool and grabbed his smoothie cup, sipping through the straw. He closed his eyes and pulled his lips away. "You know, they go through so much mental and emotional pain…there have been twins who have actually killed themselves from the stress." Sam's eyes widened and her heart exploded inside of her. She clutched her chest dangerously and quickly shook her head.

"Melanie would never do something like that!" Would she? Melanie was too gentle, too happy and carefree for something like that. However, changing her identity was something that Sam never thought she would do. She turned her eyes to the bathroom and stared at the door for a minute. Her breathing heightened as she saw a girl walk out, her brown hair and honey highlights bounced with her step. Her thin brim glasses rested gently upon the bridge of her nose. The woman looked at Sam and quickly turned away. "Mel? Is that…Melanie!"

Melanie quickly started walking towards the door and Sam ran for her, placing her hand upon her sister's shoulder. Melanie cried out and pushed her hand away. Sam took a step back and watched as Melanie stared at her, her chest heaved with her every breath and her eyes bore into Sam's with frightful intensity. "Leave me alone, Sam. This is all your fault."

"But Melanie, I…what are you talking about? It's not even _that bad_. Why would you go and change your whole look?"

"I'm tired of being _you!_" Melanie's shout echoed through the restaurant and T-Bo finally peered his head out of his office space. He frowned at the girls and stepped out in case he would have to prevent a fight. He wouldn't throw the girls out of his restaurant unless they started something. Sam felt her breath leave her and her heart sink underneath dangerous waters. Melanie's blood rushed through her body and her face started to become red. "I'm sick of people thinking that I'm you, sick of people thinking that I do what you do! Mom and Dad are upset that I went to this extreme, but you know what? As long as I'm not _you_, then I'm _happy!_"

"You didn't have to change your whole look, though! You could have just gone onto iCarly and told everyone you weren't part of everything."

"No I couldn't just do that alone. You want to know why? Because the catcalls wouldn't end!" Sam took a step back as Melanie's hands clenched angrily. The rage flourished inside and licked Sam with venom. For once in her life, Sam was terrified of _Melanie_. If looks could kill, Melanie would have stabbed Sam with the daggers that became her eyes. For a split second, Sam wondered if Nevel had found any stories on twins murdering their twin. "Every time I turn around, it's always _something! _'Hey sexy', 'You want to have fun with me?', or my ever favorite, 'I bet I can make you scream loud.' Do you _know_ what that does to me, Sam? Do you know what that does to _Freddie?_"

"Fred-oh…" Sam's eyes fell towards the ground as she imagined Freddie's reaction to the things random people shouted at Melanie. Perhaps he got into a lot of fights because of it, she didn't know.

"If I _didn't_ change my look, those would _never_ stop!" Sam winced as she tried to back away from Melanie. Her shouts were piercing her eardrums. Melanie continued to approach Sam in a fit of rage, forcing her sister against a wall. Sam looked to her sister once more and saw tears dripping down Melanie's cheeks. "I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, Sam. I want to be that sister to you, but I don't think you'd care! If you ever cared about me, you _wouldn't_ be involved in what you are involved in. Hell, if you cared about _any_ of your family, you wouldn't be involved in pornography! Why don't you just go sell out your body on the street, become a prostitute and continue to tear down our family's name! I bet mom and dad would _love _that!"

Carly and Nevel exchanged worried faces and T-Bo moved from the counter area. He knew he shouldn't get in between the sisters, but he had to think of his business. Most of his customers were watching anxiously, and some had actually left the place when Melanie exploded. He stepped next to the girls and pulled them apart. "Okay, if you're going to fight, take it elsewhere. You're scaring my customers away."

Sam felt water rolling to her chin as her sister looked from T-Bo to her, glaring coldly at her. "B-But why would you say this? We're sisters, we're supposed to love each other…"

"Right now, Sam…we're not sisters. My sister would _never _involve herself in this crap." The feeling inside Sam left her and her body became numb. Had she just been disowned by her own sister? No, that couldn't be. She was imagining things. Nevel turned back to the counter and hunched over. Sam watched him, remembering his words to them and how he feared for the girls' lives. If this was as bad as things got, then it really did hurt.

"You can't mean that, Mel…y-you can't…"

"I don't know how I feel, Sam. Just…leave me alone." Melanie turned around and started for the door. Sam could hardly move, she could hardly speak, much less call out for her sister. This would pass, she was almost certain. Melanie would come around. Wouldn't she? Things couldn't possibly be this hopeless. Melanie stopped just before stepping out of the door and turned her head back to Sam, her expression remained hardened and fierce. "I won't tell mom and dad you're with Carly…but don't let them find out, they'll be further pissed off."

"Melanie…" The door slammed shut, taunting her heart and booming within her head. Carly walked up behind her and gave her a friendly hug, comforting her in whatever way she could. No words could be said in this minute, just silence. That silence was truly deafening. Sam whimpered softly and rubbed her arms. What could be done?

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><p>Such tension this chapter, Carly's time is coming pretty soon here. Well guys, leave a review if you shall. On to the next chapter.<p> 


	12. Heat of Passion

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Heat of Passion, I should let you know, that it is a legal term for a type of murder.

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><p>Chapter 12 (Heat of Passion)<p>

Carmine and Greg Patillo sat in their kitchen, talking about the latest news regarding Sam. Isabel actually did not know what to think regarding her niece, she loved her little sister Pam, but she didn't want to start anything by disagreeing with Erica. Currently none of them had any _major_ problems with Sam, except for Erica, but everyone usually expected her to be stuck up as she usually was. If it wasn't perfect, she judged it, and there was no doubt, she judged Sam majorly.

Isabel was on the phone in the next room, listening to Erica ranting on. Greg felt bad for his cousin and wished she wouldn't be involved in the life she was. As for Carmine, he was extremely protective and honestly wanted to hunt down every guy that had sex with Sam. The only problem with that was he didn't know where any of them lived. Greg was visiting his parents, trying to calm them down and get them prepared for the big family gathering going on in the weekend. Erica was trying to convince her sisters to not allow Sam to go, but Janet and Umika, being the rational ones, said Sam deserves a chance. Nancy and Isabel really had no opinion of it, they knew Sam may be involved in seedy activities, but they weren't so sure they wanted to write her off.

"Yes Erica, I _know_ you lost a lot of respect for her…" Isabel rolled her eyes as she walked past the kitchen doorway with her cell phone. She stopped and eyed her husband and son, giving them an apologetic look. They were going to play Monopoly before her sister called, so she really didn't want to deal with the annoyance. Isabel sighed and turned away from them, walking towards the couch. "Look Erica, I'm not going to tell Pam she has to forbid Sam to come to the family get together. If you don't want to show up, don't show up…We'd _love_ for you to come, but if all you're going to do is complain, then you're just going to bring everyone down."

Carmine smiled weakly at his son as Isabel let out a frustrated shout, they knew an argument was about to break between the two sisters. Neither of them wanted to be there when she started shouting. Isabel knew this and started to head towards the back door in order to keep them from having to listen. She paused only when Erica said something so shocking that it made her blood run cold. "You can't be serious? Mr. Jackson? Our _neighbor_?" Carmine looked up from the table and raised his eyebrow.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Isabel placed her hand to her chest and looked back at her husband, lowering her phone to her shoulder.

"Erica said the video that Jacob stumbled onto was of Sam and our neighbor!" Carmine felt his blood heat up as he tilted his head in disbelief. Mr. Jackson was a thirty eight year old man, just four years older than Greg, he had no reason to be screwing around with Sam. Greg shook his head and stared at his father curiously, praying that wasn't the truth. Both were thinking one thing, they needed to research this and find out if it was the truth. Carmine was about to protest the thought, but Isabel quickly rushed out onto the back porch. He groaned and pressed his hands to the table, chuckling nervously.

"Now that I don't believe. Not Mr. Jackson…" They couldn't agree with it for the fact that they were close to their neighbor. Every year, he was the one in their quiet suburban neighborhood who had a barbecue party on the fourth of July. He was a prominent member of the church and a very calm, mild mannered man. "You don't think it's true, do you Greg?"

"I don't know, he doesn't seem like the type." Greg simply shrugged as he opened his black laptop resting on the table next to him. He was going to research it and hope that they were wrong, due to the fact that he knew of his father's ties in the mafia. He had actually been a part of the mafia back in the late seventies, early eighties, but had since retired from it. That didn't mean the dangerous blood did not flow through the man's veins. "Let's check…" He swallowed hard as he closed his eyes and sighed. "If it's true, what are we going to do?"

"It can't be true." Greg slowly nodded his head and carefully typed in the name that Jacob mentioned before. His hands shook nervously, he didn't want to even look at this crap, much less the shit that Sam was a part of. His stomach churned as several results popped up for Sam. As he and Carmine skimmed over the titles of the videos, one caught their attention over the rest. Carmine pointed and read it, his voice rising in temperament. "Samantha Golden plays with Uncle's Neighbor. What the hell is that? Click it!"

"Okay…" Their faces hardened and sweat dripped down the back of their necks as Greg pressed the mouse button. Instantly, they saw Sam sitting cross-legged on a bed, smiling at the camera and talking to whoever was behind the camera.

_"You're a bad girl, Samantha, sleeping with your uncle's neighbor…"_

_ "Well you put me up to it, Douglas. That, and I can't help it if the man is a horny bastard who never gets any from his wife."_

_ "And you're eighteen, correct?"_

_ "Yes. I am legal."_

Carmine and Greg slowly looked at each other as Sam beamed happily. They felt their stomachs churn as their anxiety and confusion started to build up. This couldn't be, this just wasn't right! Carmine pressed his lips together as he turned back to the video, his eyes bored onto the screen. Bile ran up their throats as they watched none other than Mr. Jackson step into the screen. His expression appeared uncertain at first, but when he saw Sam beginning to remove her shirt, he appeared to enjoy it. Carmine swallowed hard and sat back in the chair, folding his hands over in his lap. He stared at his neighbor with eyes of venom. Greg, too, felt the rage boiling and beginning to surface as his hand clenched the mouse. Then it happened, Mr. Jackson was fondling Sam.

Carmine roared angrily and slammed his hand into the table, how _dare_ that man touch _his_ niece! "That's it! He's fucking dead! The fucker just messed with the _wrong_ person!" Malice shot past Greg's eyes as he slammed his laptop shut and hurried to the kitchen drawer, not thinking logically. All rational thought for these two men were gone, in a fit of rage and confusion, they could only think of one thing. Revenge.

Carmine's face tightened as he ripped his gun from a high cabinet and tore out of the front door with his son close in tow. Isabel was still on the back porch and did not hear or see her husband and son exit. The thought crossed her mind, however, that she should not have told them what Erica said about their neighbor.

Greg was the first to arrive at the man's house and he swiftly pounded his fist on the wooden door. "Jackson! We know you're in there! Open the door!" Carmine picked up a lead pipe that was near the driveway, it was evident that the man was working on something. He roared angrily and started to smash the windows of the man's car.

"Move it, son!" Greg stepped to the side as Carmine slammed the pipe into the door, smashing a small hole in the center. He reached in and unlocked the door, opening it. "Come on Jackson! You want to fuck my niece, we're going to fuck you up!"

The men entered the house, oblivious to the conscience thought telling them to turn around and leave. Their neighbor was in the kitchen, eating a hamburger. His eyes widened when he saw the two tearing through his house, slashing and destroying anything they could see. He quickly stood from his chair and took a frightful step back. "C-Carmine, Greg, what are you doing?"

"What about what _you_ were doing? My niece?" The man paled and started to run, but Carmine grabbed his head and slammed it down into the table.

"Traci, call 911! Please!" His scream for his wife echoed through the house, but his next scream was bloodcurdling as Greg dug the serrated kitchen knife into his back. "Please! I didn't_ know!__Honestly!_" Greg roared and pulled the man up with his hair and tossed him against the kitchen counter, bruising the back of his head. He heard a scream come from another room, but both men ignored it. They were running on the fuel that was their anger. Carmine narrowed his eyes and pointed his .38 caliber pistol towards the man.

"You are a fucking bastard, and to think I ate at your parties every year."

"No please!" Mr. Jackson turned his head to the side and closed his eyes tightly. Tears dripped from his eyes as fear spread to every corner of his soul. "I beg you! Don't kill me! I didn't even know the girl was your niece, they roped me in! I swear of it!"

"Not Sam, not our precious Sam. She would _never _rope anyone in! Say your prayers…" Carmine cocked his gun back as the man started to push himself backwards. He could barely move with the pain of the stab wound in his back, but he wanted to continue fighting for his life if possible. He knew he was scum and what he'd done with Sam was a mistake, something he regretted. His wife forgave him when he told her about his one-time fling with the porn star.

He choked out a sob when he felt a sudden pain hit him in the side, Greg had stabbed him again. "It was just one time! I swear!" He lifted his hands up as Carmine's furious glare darkened.

"And it'll never happen again, we'll make sure of it."

On the back porch, Isabel was still talking to Erica and trying to ignore the woman's inane ranting. She looked into the window of her house and saw the front door wide open, which was something of a surprise. She lifted her eyebrow up and glanced to the sky as sirens broke out in the distance. "Well that's odd."

"What is it, sis?"

"We don't usually hear sirens around this area…I wonder what happened." Isabel walked into the house and lifted her free hand to her mouth. "Carmine? Greg? Are you guys here? They left the front door open…"

"Maybe they just went on the front yard, but enough about all that…"

"No, something's not right. They never just leave the front door open like that." She stepped into the kitchen and saw Greg's laptop sitting crooked on the table. Humming lightly, she opened it up and paled when she saw what had been left on the browser. One of Sam's videos, specifically the one Erica told her about. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she quickly turned her eyes to the front door. "No…"

"What is it? What's going on?"

"No! Carmine! Greg!" Thinking fast, she ran out the front door. Panic shot through her as her heart began racing. She knew how deep the anger of the two men ran when it came to their family. She had not even made it out of the front yard before a loud explosion jarred her and caused her to freeze in her tracks. Her eyes widened as the gunshot rang in her ears repeatedly. Slowly she fell to her knees, staring blankly at the dreary house in front of her as police cars quickly came to an abrupt halt in front of the house.

"Isabel? What was that? Isa?"

"T-They saw the video, they…they killed him Erica. They killed him!"

"What are you talking about? Who killed who?"

"Carmine and Greg, they killed that man. They killed Mr. Jackson!" Erica gasped softly and Isabel watched as the police jumped out of their cars and pointed their guns toward the house. Tears dripped from her eyes as she watched her husband and Greg walking out of the house, their hands behind their head. They looked to Isabel and immediately turned their gazes away, their expressions were shameful, as they had just realized what they did. The police quickly cuffed them and started shoving them into the cars. Traci came out, her face drenched with tears and clothes soaked with her husband's blood, she had been trying to resuscitate him, but failed.

Mr. Jackson was dead, the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the forehead.

* * *

><p>Things really are getting bad. As I've probably said before, it gets worse before it gets better, that seems to be a prominent thing.<p> 


	13. Torn

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 13 (Torn)<p>

David threw his hat and coat on the bed in frustration as Pam looked up with a silent face. This lifestyle of Sam's was causing a rift between the two, but they weren't going to let it completely destroy their marriage. "What's wrong, David?" David turned his eyes to Pam and sadness instantly flashed through her mind. She didn't know yet, her sisters may not have contacted her. He didn't have the heart to tell her, but he knew she needed to know. She had a right.

"Pam…" He moved towards her, keeping his voice quiet so as to not rouse any unnecessary anxieties within her. He knew she was going to have a hard time accepting the news he had. She had the floral comforter over her and was reading a novel by James Patterson. David slowly took the book from her and set it on the end table, kneeling down and placing his hand on hers and looking softly into her large eyes. She knew he had to rush into the office just an hour ago, and with the way he was acting now, she could only pray he didn't have any _horrible_ news, despite the fact that his eyes told her a completely different story. "It's Carmine and Greg…"

"What?" She raised her eyebrow as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Pam honestly didn't want to hear anything bad concerning them, she didn't think she wanted to hear _anything _more that was bad, she couldn't take it. It was bad enough that Sam was involved in porn, it broke her heart when Melanie had that makeover and decided to change herself, and it was even harder to deal with Erica's judgmental attitude towards Sam. She could do nothing to defend her baby, because she knew her little sister was right about Sam, right about the life. "What did they do, David?"

"They killed someone…" Instantly her body became cold and silence fell from the air. She slowly shook her head, not wanting to listen to her husband. "Pam, the man they killed…he was in a video with Sam." Pam cupped her hand over her mouth and tried to cover a loud sob, tears instantly fell from her red eyes.

"No!" David now had to investigate the very video along with dealing with his brother in law and nephew. He had a hard time accepting what had happened as well, but now was the time he had to separate his personal life from his work, or else he'd lose himself in it all. "I thought…I thought Sam said she was just in that one video that Melanie and Freddie saw?"

"No Pam, you know she was in more than that." As of right now, all they could do was trust that she stay away from Carly and to stay away from that lifestyle. People told them they might have to force it, as though Sam were a drug addict, but they didn't want to force her to do anything. "Right now the evidence surrounding them, including a confession on tape that says they lost control, it all leads to a conviction. I don't know how long…it could mean anywhere from 20 years to life for the both of them."

"I know…I just…" Pam lowered her hand as David sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She started to sob as she buried her head into his shoulder. She knew it wouldn't be long before her sisters started calling. Erica already didn't want Sam showing up at the gathering, but Sam deserved to see her grandmother and her family, didn't she? "David, where…where did we go wrong?"

"I don't know, Pam." She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked past him, staring at the small desk propped up against the wall. Her cream colored personal computer rested on it, it's webcam clung neatly from the top of the computer. She had Skype, allowing her the ability to talk to all her sisters. It was ringing, but she hadn't noticed it until now. David looked over and frowned, he could see the group that was calling them. "It's your sisters..."

"I know…" Pam slowly pushed the blanket off of her and wiped her eyes before carefully walking over to the computer and answering the call. She smiled hesitatingly at the webcams of Janet, Umika, Nancy, Isabel, and Erica. Erica looked pissed, her round face was scrunched up and her eyes were narrow with accusation. Isabel's face was stained with tears and her eyes had been rubbed raw. Nancy was brushing her short brown hair and gazing off uncomfortably, as though she really did not want to be a part of this. Umika appeared tired and her slanted eyes were gazing up above the webcam at something else. Janet seemed to be the most attentive and alert. "Hey girls, how are you guys?"

"Carmine and Greg murdered someone!" Isabel cried out. She glared at Pam with accusing eyes and pointed at her. "They did it because _your_ daughter slept with our neighbor!" Pam winced at the blow and quickly lifted her hand and tried to shake it off.

"It isn't _my_ fault what Sam did!" Erica scoffed and rolled her eyes, she scowled and the other sisters looked at the screen mournfully.

"Well you should have more control over her. I wouldn't even allow Jacob the opportunity for that." Pam's lips fell and she folded her arms over her chest defensively.

"Sam has a mind of her own, she doesn't always listen to us. She's not as good as Melanie is."

"She takes for granted the family she has!" Pam turned her eyes to David and he shook his head, not wanting to get involved in a dispute between the women. Honestly, he hated to admit that Erica was right, Sam really took her family for granted. "If she wasn't involved in this porn business, then Carmine and Greg wouldn't have to kill the man!"

"And you're blaming _Sam_ for what they did? You _know_ they have a lot of anger issues!" Erica threw her hands in the air, grabbing it in frustration. Isabel slowly wiped her eyes with a white rag. Janet and Umika both sighed and shook their heads, they knew they needed to calm down the flames that were being shot about, but they had no clue how to douse them. Whenever Erica was on the warpath, there was almost no stopping her. It had been this way since childhood. Janet put her closed hand to her lips and cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of her sisters.

"Now listen, there's no need to point fingers, okay? Yes, what Sam's been doing is bad, but the way you're talking is as though she pulled that trigger herself." Erica rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

"She may as well have!"

"Don't say that about my daughter!" Pam cried out, her voice filled with despair and pain. She could not understand why _anyone_ would be so cruel! Erica's teeth flashed momentarily and she tilted her head to the side.

"Well it's as I said, your daughter's the one that slept with that man." Pam winced once more and tried to seal her tears and broken heart, but it was difficult enough to do that. How could she deny that she must have raised Sam wrong? She thought she raised her daughter right and not to go out and sleep with random men. "Your daughter's an internet prostitute, Pamela! Can't you see that?"

"Yes! I see it, okay? Is it _my fault?"_ The other four sisters remained quiet and waited to see if the flames would ever die down, but it seemed near impossible. Erica laughed tiredly and slowly shook her head.

"Well maybe if you raised her the right way, she wouldn't have gone into porn. Did you ever think about that?"

"What makes you think it's my fault? Melanie's not involved in pornography! I raised both my girls the same way! It's that Carly girl, she's the influence!"

"Well whose fault is it that you never monitored who your child was friends with, Pam?" Pam was stunned into silence, the thought to monitor her daughters' friends never really crossed her mind. All throughout their lives, they had been such good girls and had great friends that always seemed to be in good shape, so she never questioned any of them. David closed his eyes and looked away, his body was tensing up and he was ready to step in and tell Erica to stop treating Pam the way she was. Who was she to try and tell Pam how to raise her own children? Fortunately, it was Umika that started talking.

"Girls, settle down, we don't need to be fighting with each other…not this close to the family gathering. Besides, mom would hate for all this tension. Let's just relax, okay?" She was looking forward to seeing her sisters, to seeing her mother again. All things considered, they really needed to let this slide. "It's going to be hard, with all that's going on, yes, but we need to try and enjoy our time together. Do you understand, girls? Besides, Garth and Daisy are going to have a baby, I'm going to be a grandmother! Let's talk about that?"

"I don't feel like talking about that stuff right now." Erica huffed and Umika slowly exhaled. She wanted Erica to stop acting like she was queen of everything and start seeing things with a reasonable mind. Even Nancy's daughter, Tanya, was trying to have a baby. These were good times. "Besides, god knows if Sam's going to end up pregnant!" Pam rolled her eyes and groaned as she leaned forward and began rubbing her temples. This was beginning to feel redundant, she wanted it to all end. "You know what? Isabel and I were talking, we think Sam shouldn't go to the gathering…" Nancy's eyebrows rose as the two elder sisters merely stared in silence. Isabel slowly nodded her head and Pam quickly sank back in her chair.

"What? Why would you say that? She's my daughter, _I_ have that say whether she should go or not!"

"It's simple, Pam. She's causing everyone so much stress and tension, plus you need to step up and punish her." Pam frowned as she looked to her oldest sisters for help. David, himself, wasn't too sure he agreed with Erica here, but he did admit that she had a point. He wasn't going to side against his wife, though, whatever she decided. "She doesn't deserve to go to the gathering. Let Melanie go."

"Erica! Sam wants to see her family just as much as Melanie!"

"Well if she really cared about her family, do you think she'd be fucking every guy she found?" The scorn in Erica's voice broke Pam and throttled her heart about. Pam crashed and pressed her lips together, unable to say anything in return. Janet sighed and interrupted Erica.

"Erica, honestly, it's Sam…she may be on the wrong path, but that doesn't mean we should just write her off." Umika nodded with agreement and Pam felt her heart rising up inside her chest. She looked to Nancy, who was still remaining quiet in this discussion. She was afraid to interject and honestly had nothing against Sam. "She hasn't seen any of her cousins in ages."

"No, but my son's definitely seen more of her than he wanted! He's scarred for life!"

Umika chuckled and tapped her fingertips slowly on the desk beside her. "Jacob is a teenager, they rise up from these things. He'll be fine, Erica. You're getting a bit _too_ over your head here…Janet's right, Sam deserves to see her family as much as anyone." Erica rolled her eyes and stared at Pam coldly.

"Your daughter has become a _whore._ She's a bad influence! I do not want her around my son!" Erica crossed her arms over and Isabel slowly looked up from her keyboard, sniffing quietly. She wasn't too sure if she could handle being around Sam right now. The guilt for accusing Pam and starting this fight was almost unbearable, but she hadn't been able to calm down since Carmine and Greg were taken away.

"I'm sorry Pam, I didn't mean to yell at you earlier…" Pam frowned and looked to her sister, she could honestly forgive her for her anger. It was justified, she needed someone to blame, and Sam was an easy scapegoat. "I agree with Erica, though, I don't think Sam should be allowed at the family gathering…"

"Isabel…" Pam trembled silently, feeling the embarrassment overwhelming her. She honestly never wanted, or even imagined, having to have a conversation like this with her sisters. They were supposed to be a perfect family, filled with love and hope, always forgiving and always trusting. Her daughter threw a wrench in that, and she didn't want to admit to that. She pushed down the bile in her throat and turned her sorrowful eyes to Nancy. "Nancy…you haven't said anything, what do you think?" Nancy's eyes widened and she quickly turned her attention to the screen. She was afraid to be pulled into this and wanted nothing more than to avoid it.

"I…well, Pam, it's…" She closed her eyes and leaned back, pushing her fingers slowly against her desk. "Sam really hurt all of us, in a way. You have to understand, it's hard to trust her right now. I know Erica's going off on a tangent that really crosses the line…" Erica huffed and turned away from the computer. Why was it the girls always seemed to think she was too overbearing? "However, there's a point among all this that doesn't really discount Sam…Isabel's husband and son just got arrested because they found out a neighbor had been one of Sam's, er…clients, if that's the term to use."

"Okay…"

"I think right now it would be difficult for Isabel to really be around her right now. I mean she could just not go if she didn't want to go, same for Erica, but because of all the tension going on here…it might be easier if Sam just didn't go. Not only that, but Pam…you, and maybe Janet and Umika, are probably the only ones still trusting Sam when she says she won't do another porn video. Do you honestly think she will stop?"

"Porn is like a drug," Umika stated quietly. She had once been a guidance counselor for recovering porn addicts. She knew well how it was. "She needs someone to be there for her, I'm not too sure shunning her would be wise. I know she's given our family a bad name, but…if she says she's going to stop, then maybe she will. Did she sound like she actually meant it?"

"That's not the point," Pam stated abruptly. David lifted his eyebrows and sighed. Both he and Pam knew Sam didn't seem all that certain when she said she wouldn't shoot another video and that she would no longer see Carly. Umika closed her eyes and sighed.

"I know, but my point is we shouldn't be as judgmental of her right now. For now, I will…sadly…agree with Nancy and the others here. It may be difficult for Sam to go to the reunion and everyone be in good spirits."

David turned his eyes to the door and frowned as he saw golden hair fly by, Sam had been listening. He winced as her bedroom door slammed shut. They should have anticipated this. Pam quickly looked at David and felt her heart sinking, she didn't want to have to tell Sam she couldn't go to the family gathering, but it was too late now. "Should I talk to her, David?"

"No…just let her be, she may come around." He hated feeling like an asshole, but he honestly couldn't say anything good about his relationship with his daughter as of late. It used to be that they were always close and happy, but now, they were constantly at each other's throats. "This whole thing is killing me, as it is…it's killing us all…" Pam slowly stood up and hugged him, this time however she caught a whiff of something foreign. Her eyes enlarged and she took a step back, staring into David's eyes with disbelief and shock.

"David! Have you been drinking again?" He slowly closed his eyes and turned his head away. He had a problem with alcohol a long time before Sam and Melanie had been born, and shortly before marrying Pam. He was not the angry drunk, rather, he had usually tried to drink to pass out, and his goal was almost always accomplished. He was ashamed to admit that since all this had happened, he started to drink again. Pam's sisters gasped and started talking all at once, trying to offer support, or in Erica's way, judging. Pam attributed them to background noise and took her husband's hand in hers. "No. I'm not letting you drink."

"I'm sorry…I'll go talk to Sam." Pam swallowed hard as she watched her husband walk away. The house was probably going to fill with anger again. Melanie actually hadn't come home tonight, for the second time in a row. She was staying with Freddie, refusing to go home where Sam was. Things were just going by way too fast for Pam to keep up with, she was starting to break down. Maybe her sisters were right, maybe there was no helping Sam, maybe there was no trusting her. Maybe, just maybe, she was the fool here, and it tore her heart to shreds.

* * *

><p>Sam is no longer allowed at the gathering, it's pretty sad. Well, next chapter is called "breaking up is hard" and someone deals with <em>two<em>, not one, but _two_ breakups. A romantic one and a family one. You'd probably guess who, it's a hard chapter.


	14. Breaking Up is Hard

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 14 (Breaking Up is Hard)<p>

The next day, Carly and Douglas sat on a Ferris Wheel in the amusement park, they seemed to be having a great time on their date, but Carly was noticing Douglas acting very distant. More so than usual. Whenever she asked, he would not tell her what was on his mind. They even shot a video just this morning and posted it up online, that should have at least made Douglas happy, but it did nothing. Carly wrapped her arms around his right arm and rested her head upon his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, but emotionally, he pulled away from her.

"Douglas, why won't you tell me what's on your mind? I love you baby…" Douglas closed his eyes and slowly shrugged. His lack of a response pierced Carly's heart and caused her to pull away from him. She folded her arms over her chest and looked off at the lake in the distance. "I don't understand you, you've been so fucking distant all day." He moved his eyes towards her, then tore them away from her. His lips parted, but he withdrew whatever thought he had and looked away.

"It's not necessarily me that's being distant." What was that supposed to mean? Carly's face twisted in confusion and she quickly turned her head towards him.

"Excuse me? You _know_ what I've been dealing with lately. I just got expelled from school, my brother's threatening to kick me out, I have to take senior year all over again and probably at a different school. My best friend's parents, as well as Spencer, are denying me the right to see Sam. I've been dealing with a lot, thank you very much…" She wouldn't have become defensive so quickly if he hadn't sounded so accusing in his tone. Why was he acting this way all of a sudden? Granted, he had been acting differently ever since Melanie and Freddie found out about the porn. Or, had he been acting differently since they got Sam involved? "You always seem happiest when we're shooting a porn video…"

"Yeah, I know." He gripped the red cart with his fingertips and closed his eyes. The wind through his hair was somewhat calming, but yet inside he was just a mass of explosions. He slowly shook his head and peered off into the distance. "I'm just a bit concerned about all this drama that's going on. It's really not helping…"

"What? What is it not helping?"

"You're always distracted, the clients aren't as satisfied with you, and we're not making as much money as before." Carly's jaw fell and Douglas turned his eyes upon her. She hesitated and looked into his gaze, he didn't seem at all caring about all the shit she was going through. Why wasn't he? Was he not her boyfriend? She didn't understand!" "You can't let all this drama keep you from performing."

"I-I perform just _fine_, thank you! What are you, my manager or my boyfriend?" Carly couldn't believe her ears! His words penetrated her and weakened her heart, she wanted him to support her through this mess, not scold her. Whatever happened to the understanding, supportive boyfriends? "Douglas, I can't control the shit that's being flung at me! It's not my fault! Why can't you be supportive of me? Tell me it's going to be okay and tell me you love me!" Douglas rolled his eyes and placed his hand on Carly's arm. She pouted her lip as he gave her a stern look.

"I do care about you, Carly, but I'm serious. This bullshit that's going on needs to stop. You're letting it all affect you. Spencer shouldn't matter when it comes to your career, and Sam's more than just your best friend, she's our coworker. Nothing should keep you from that fact." Carly moved her head back as his words hit her into shock. Wasn't it reversed? Wasn't the fact that Sam was her best friend more important than the _thought_ of Sam being a coworker? Her heart began to pound in her chest and sweat started dripping down her neck.

"I don't get it. She's my best friend, Douglas, not my coworker! I'm not letting anything get in the way of my job, honest!" She gripped his arm tightly and he quickly pulled it away. He never wanted to have this conversation, he just wanted to hope Carly would bring the payments up more. She and Sam were literally his meal tickets, as they did more porn than he did and they split the money in three ways. "Sam deserves more respect than just that simple term." Douglas lifted his hands up and sighed, exhausted and irritated.

"Look, I understand, but I really don't care. I'm just repeating what probably every client and boss you have in your day will say. You need to separate your personal life from your career." While that was true, it was never good to involve both in the same scenario, she couldn't control what was going on around her. Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she moved her hands to the iron bar and stared ahead, gripping the cold iron so tight that her knuckles began to turn white. "You're not bringing in as much money, which means we're making _less _money."

"So…all you care about is the money?" Douglas sighed and leaned his head back. How could he explain this to her in a way that she would understand? He didn't want to sound shallow and vain, though he likely was in her mind, but the fact that they weren't making as much money meant he wasn't making rent. "You can't be the typical boyfriend? You can't be like Freddie, who supports Melanie no matter what? You can't be like Jonah, who stands behind Valerie on everything? Why can't you take lessons?" Her voice cracked and Douglas let out a groan. He placed his elbow on the side of the cart and rested his head on his hand.

"I'm _not_ them, Carly! I'm my own person!" Carly felt her eyes begin to water and slowly looked away from him, not wanting him to see her tears. If he didn't give a damn about how she felt, then he surely would jump on her for crying over his words. He was steadily chipping away at her heart, didn't he see that? Did he not see the way he was treating her? "I'm saying that if you don't shape up, then you're useless!"

Carly gasped and her eyes flew open, everything inside of her froze as her body stiffened. Did she hear what she thought she had? He couldn't mean that, he just couldn't! Her heart stopped abruptly and her gut churned, attempting to force the bile up her throat. She wasn't useless. "You can't mean that! You asshole!" She turned around and smacked him hard against his arm. She'd been trying to keep calm, but now it was almost too much to bear. "I love what I do, and I think I perform perfectly! I am not useless and I'd prove it to you! I just need some time to get my brother off my case!"

"No, you have no time to do that. Just ignore him."

"I kind of can't, Douglas. If I ignore him completely, he may actually kick me out."

"Didn't you say you didn't believe he would actually do that?"

"Yeah, but…" The cart soon came to a stop at the bottom and the door opened to release them. The iron bar shot forward and Douglas let out a small growl. He'd become tired of Carly, simply too tired of her. One thing that she didn't always seem to do was perform with him, that was another issue he had with her. He'd have to find another moneymaker elsewhere. If anything, Sam would still perform. He shot an angry glare at Carly and she sank back, reading his eyes carefully. She had a bad feeling about what he was going to do next. She didn't want to think about what might come next, but with as bad as things were going, she was almost surely expecting the worst.

"I'm sorry Carly, it's too late. We're through." Carly paled and her world slowly began to crumble around her. She watched as Douglas stepped out of the cart and eyed her with vindication. "I'm sorry, but if you can't perform well enough to bring in the cash flow, you're useless to me. It's over. Goodbye."

"W-What…but Douglas, you can't just-" She gripped her pants tightly as she bowed her head. She couldn't stand to look him in the eyes. She moaned softly as she heard his footsteps departing among the crowd. The worker closed her door when she wouldn't respond to whether she was going to get out or not, but it wasn't her fault, everything around her she had simply droned out.

As the Wheel began moving, she curled forward and placed her hands to her eyes, sobbing quietly. How could this have happened to her? How could Douglas have dumped _her_? Her heart shattered and split. This just wasn't fair, it wasn't right. She was not useless, and she would prove it!

She silently glared ahead of her, trying to think of what she could do next. If it was really over between them, she was going to get revenge. She was thinking wild, passionate sex with somebody and sending that video to Douglas. Surely he would feel horrible about calling _her _useless!

As the Ferris Wheel came to a stop where she was at again, she quickly left and looked to the worker manning the station. Not many people were in the line that she saw, so maybe she could get away with what she wanted to do. She quickly made her way to the worker and tugged her lips into a smirk. "Hey there…" Her voice was seductive and the worker slowly lifted his head to her, he had to be about seventeen years old. "What's your name?" She traced her finger along his chest and held his gaze.

"S-Seth."

"Well Seth, what would you say if I did this?" Carly wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, moaning as she trailed down his body. He stiffened and his eyes widened as she trailed her hands along his chest. She moaned seductively as she turned around and brushed her back against him, rising up and chuckling. "So cutie pie, how's about you and I get a little…" He grunted as he felt her clasp her hand around his valuables and squeeze gently. "Privacy?"

"I-I, well…I…I can't leave my station."

"I'm sure nobody would mind, really, Sethy." She turned around and gazed into his eyes, breathing out onto his lips.

"Carly Shay!" She froze instantly, her lips hovering over his. Just as she was about to close the deal, the worst possible person to find her had just found her. She swallowed hard and turned around to see Spencer glaring angrily at her. He didn't just appear agitated, he looked betrayed, hurt, and as though filled with an intense rage. "Get over here this instant!"

"S-Spencer! T-This isn't what it looks like, I swear it!" Spencer raised his eyebrow and folded his arms over, continuing to glare daggers at her. She felt her body light on fire and moaned with agony. Maybe she could talk her way out of this, but maybe not. She slowly walked over to him and smiled uncomfortably. "So what brings you here?"

"A number of things. Now come with me." He grabbed her wrist tightly and started pulling her. It didn't hurt, but she decided to make a show of it, which actually pissed Spencer off more.

"Ow! Spencer, you're hurting me! We're in public, you shouldn't do this! It hurts!" Spencer loosened his grip and shifted his eyes over as a park security guard walked up to him, concerned for Carly. Carly's eyes widened as Spencer slowly sighed.

"Sir, what are you doing?" The guard looked to Carly and smiled softly. "Miss, is this man hurting you?" Thinking fast, Carly slowly shook her head. He raised an eyebrow and turned to Spencer. "Do you know each other?"

"Yeah, this is my brother, he's just a little upset, that's all." Carly chuckled nervously as Spencer looked at her through the corner of his eyes. "We'll be fine, there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay…" The guard cleared his throat and turned to Spencer, shaking his flashlight at him. "Please remember, sir. This is a family park, we would ask that you kindly refrain from any harmful actions to young children." Spencer pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes sir, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good, because it could easily become a case of domestic abuse, and we'd hate to have to arrest you because of a family dispute." Carly winced inwardly as she watched the guard continue to rebuke Spencer for another minute. Once the guard left, Spencer simply looked to her without a word. She felt his anger pierce her and she knew she wasn't to say or do anything else.

"Spencer, I'm so-" Spencer held his hand up and started walking, she followed quietly behind him until they reached his car. Sasha was in the passenger seat. Her eyes met Spencer's, then Carly's, then she slowly turned her gaze away. Her eyes were wet and her silence spoke volumes to Carly's shattering soul. Spencer opened the back door and she slowly climbed in behind Sasha. He slammed the door shut and made his way to the driver's side. Carly knew she shouldn't have made a scene, Spencer was not abusive in any way, he would _never_ lay a hand on either her or Sasha, but now she just got the security guards at the amusement park watching him. He was on their list. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and closed his eyes. "Spencer?"

He did not respond for a whole minute. Sasha placed her hand on his leg and he slowly exhaled, his body was barely trembling. "Thank you Carly, now I'm too damn embarrassed to even bring my child to this park in the future. Those guards will constantly watch me." Sasha lifted her eyebrows and looked back to Carly in confusion.

"What happened this time?"

"She made a scene when I started pulling her away, caught the attention of the park security." Sasha gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. How embarrassing! Carly moved her eyes to the side as Spencer lifted his gaze to the park entrance. Some security guards were watching him, possibly wondering if he would strike Carly. "Jesus Christ, I can barely even show my face in this town! I've had it!"

"Come on Spencer, don't be like that." Carly hoped he'd listen to her and maybe calm down, she honestly didn't mean to piss him off. "I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry!"

"It's not just that, but you _blatantly _disobeyed me, Carly! _Again_, you disobeyed me!"

"W-What do you mean…"

"Should I count them?" Spencer turned around in his seat and started lifting his fingers, counting off each disregard for his rules that Carly broke. "Sasha and I went to the groovy smoothie to have a drink and T-Bo explained that you and Sam got into an argument with Nevel, and then Melanie. You've been seeing Sam when I _explicitly _told you not to!"

"She's my best friend, Spencer!"

"I don't care!" Carly frowned and moved her eyes downward as Spencer lifted his second finger up. "Second of all, you had sex in the apartment again! Yes, we installed cameras." She gasped and sank down, moving her eyes outside at the guards. They were starting to move. She swallowed hard and looked back to Spencer, it actually might look like he was either hitting her or about to hit her, from someone outside. "That brings me to point three, you're with Douglas. I forbade you from seeing him!"

"I'm sorry, okay? Honestly!"

"We find out that you come here with him, and when we get here, what are you doing? You're rubbing up against a park employee! Do you live to piss me off?"

"Spencer, please!" Tears were flowing from Carly's eyes, his words were hurting her enough. She wanted to talk him down. Maybe he wouldn't send her off to Yakima, but if he got any angrier, he just might. Just as she was about to say something, there was a loud knocking on the door.

"What?" Carly's eyes widened and Sasha gasped as Spencer was suddenly pulled from the car. He was pushed up against the car by three guards as they started to throw handcuffs on his wrist. Carly cupped her hand over her mouth and Sasha cried out for Spencer.

"We warned you once, sir. We're going to take you to the park office and have a talk with you. Come on." Spencer closed his eyes tightly as the officers started to lead him away, he was going to oblige and not protest. "We won't place you under arrest, but you have some explaining to do."

"Spencer!" Sasha quickly left the car and one of the guards held his hand up to her.

"Please stay back, ma'am." Sasha's eyes widened as she fell back against the car. She placed her hand over her stomach and clenched her eyes shut. She was going to vouch for Carly, but now it was just far too late. She slowly retreated back into the car and didn't speak a word. Carly also remained silent, knowing that now even Sasha might be a bit angry at her.

Thirty minutes later, Spencer came walking back to the car. Sasha had the music going and the air running. Carly was sitting with her arms crossed and eyes downcast. She didn't bother looking up when Spencer entered the car and started it up. He began driving, his expression was calm but inside he was steaming. Sasha slowly looked at him and placed her hand upon his. "Spencer? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's official, I'm permanently banned from this park. If I show my face here again, they _will_ arrest me." Carly's eyes darted up and Sasha turned her gaze outside.

"Did they take your picture?"

"Picture, fingerprints, everything they needed to remember who the hell I was." He chuckled vainly and moved his head to the side. "It feels great, really, to be permanently barred from an old favorite amusement park." Carly groaned inwardly, feeling the dripping sarcasm. She knew how much that park meant to him, it was where he actually first met Sasha when they were kids and before she moved away. Tears left his eyes as his body shook. "I actually wanted to take our children there, I thought about having our first anniversary there." Carly breathed in and spoke for the first time, her voice shaking.

"Spencer, I'm so sorry, I really am."

"Carly, shut it. I'm through dealing with you." Carly frowned as Spencer gripped his steering wheel tighter. "I'm not letting you fuck my life up any more and possibly getting me arrested again. I'm trying to get back into a career in the legal field, I_ don't_ need this. I'm not going to let you influence my children either. Up until that last insult, I was actually considering giving you _another_ chance, and I'm pretty sure Sasha was going to stand up for you." Carly's lip trembled and she already could sense the powerful blow coming for her. Sasha closed her eyes as Spencer's voice hardened. "When we get home, I want you to pack everything. We'll make sure _everything_ is packed and that is _all_ you do. By tomorrow afternoon, you'll be on the plane for Yakima."

"But Spencer!"

"No! My word is final this time!" Spencer hit the top of his steering wheel and Carly instantly sank back. "You've shattered my trust, disregarded my authority, lied, caused a scene, got me barred from an amusement park of all things. Do you fucking _hate_ me?"

"No…" Her voice came out in a whimper and she slowly pulled her knees to her chest. She sobbed quietly, not wanting it to be known just how bad she felt. Her soul had just been split in two, she lost her boyfriend and now even her brother.

"I've had enough of it. I'm not going to do this. I honestly thought they were going to arrest me in there, want to know why they didn't? Because I didn't actually _hit_ you! I'm sorry Carly, it's over. I'm not going to put up with you any longer. Now, you are your grandfather's mess."

"Spencer…" She looked at Sasha and slowly breathed out. "Sasha?" Sasha slowly shook her head, unable to think of anything to say. She didn't necessarily agree with Spencer, but she knew this couldn't continue. It may just be for the best. "I'm so sorry…"

Yet it was far too late, there were no more opportunities to apologize. They now fell upon deaf ears. Spencer, was really through.

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><p>Douglas is extremely cold here, he's also going to be showing his more manipulativecontrolling side in later chapters (But someone _may_ put an end to that). Spencer, finally driven over the edge when Carly acts up and creates a scene, getting him in trouble with park security, now will be sending her to Yakima. Keep in mind that once she leaves Seattle, she is _still_ going to be a part of this story. I don't write characters off without good reason. The next chapter will be a bit of a break from the drama before major drama continues, two sisters will share a moment before being wedged apart. Stick around!


	15. Painful Separation

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 15 (Painful Separation)<p>

"Are you sure about this, Douglas?" Sam asked as she laid beneath the blanket with Douglas standing at the other end of the room, holding a camera. Standing next to her at the bed was a black male in his early twenties, he'd been screened for any kind of STDs and proven that he had none. He also had a very good sum of money and would offer a hefty sum to Sam if she performed well. She knew she could perform well, especially for the amount of money this man was offering. "I'm just kind of nervous with the things that have been happening lately…"

"You'll be fine, Sam. Don't worry." She slowly nodded her head and closed her eyes. She had to focus. After all, if Carly could do it, so could she. It was just that with the recent murder that her uncle and cousin committed weighing on her mind, along with the fact that she was no longer allowed at the family gathering, things were becoming increasingly difficult for her. She knew that if she lied again to her family, they were through. She told them she'd quit, but she hadn't meant it at the time and she knew it. If they found out she was still having sex with random people, what would they do? "You can't escape the desire for money, huh? It's just too empowering and overwhelming, isn't it?"

"Something like that. My family won't find out, will they?" Doug shrugged as Sam looked nervously at the man next to her. He had very perfectly shaped muscles and chocolate brown skin, his dark eyes seemed to take up his whole eye, though. He had no hair and had a sharp face. "Does he have a condom? Make damn sure he's got a condom, I don't want to be pregnant." Douglas nodded his head and gave her a thumbs up as the man smiled brightly and held up a small square container.

"Well I was hoping to fill you up, but I guess that's fine." Sam rolled her eyes at the man's statement and looked to the side. Those typical statements were starting to become old. She was beginning to wonder if this life was really worth the money, or if the money was really worth all the pain she was enduring lately. Her family continued to come to her mind, somehow she felt as though something terrible were happening, or perhaps it already had. "You seem a tad distracted, are you okay Miss Golden?"

"Yes, I'm fine, let's just do this okay?"

"Mm, just wanting to get the job done, I like that." Douglas licked his lips as he pressed the record button. Sam tore the covers off of her and closed her eyes as the man placed his condom on and climbed on top of her naked body. "Alright, let's see if you're worth a few hundred." Sam groaned and rolled her eyes, she honestly hated people who said that. The feeling of selling her body for money, it was beginning to disturb her.

"You are so lucky that I can't get enough of this lifestyle, otherwise I'd kill you for what you just said to me." She smirked dangerously and placed her hands upon his firm shoulders. He chuckled and tilted his head to the side, clearly he was turned on by her.

"Fiery, just what I like." Sam tilted her head back and her eyes rolled towards the back of her head. It was just another day in the life, another feeling of pleasure and another opportunity to make money. She let out a soft moan and Douglas leaned against the wall as he continued recording.

When the act was over, the man rolled off of her and grinned as he grabbed his wallet from the jeans on the ground. Sam looked up as he pulled six hundred dollars from his wallet and dropped the money onto Sam's body. She gave him a fake smile and slowly sat up, immediately setting up the math for dividing up the money. The man thanked her, then thanked Douglas, and walked out.

"Great job, Sam! I'm proud. That's enough to help pay for this month's rent!" Sam looked up with confusion and tilted her head to the side. That made no sense to her, considering his rent was three hundred dollars. There was only six hundred, not enough to divide it among the three of them.

"What about Carly? She always gets a third of whatever is made." Douglas lifted his eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders. He neglected to tell her that it was over with Carly. It should be nothing new, breakups happen all the time in the porn business.

"She and I are no longer together." Sam raised an eyebrow and slowly stood up, grabbing her pants off of the ground.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"I dumped her earlier today at the amusement park." Sam gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, dropping the money to the ground. How come Carly hadn't called her to tell her that? Why would Douglas dump her? What reason? "It's nothing really, it's just the porn industry. Breakups almost always happen there. She'll cope and move on, I'm sure." He seemed so cold, it was very disturbing. How could he just dump Carly and not even_ care_?

"How can you _say_ that? Why would you even talk like that! I thought you two loved each other?" Douglas sighed and pushed his camera into the camera holder. He would be uploading the video to the site later. He wasn't aware of the murder that happened, wasn't aware that Sam's father now actually had to investigate the site.

"She's been too distracted lately, letting her personal life get in the way and hasn't been making any money. She's not being productive, so I have to move on."

"You have to be kidding me…" Sam's jaw fell and she quickly shook her head. Her heart pounded in her chest and she quickly pulled her jeans on. She never thought Douglas was that much of a jerk, he honestly seemed like a genuine guy. "Carly would _never_ stop the lifestyle, she loves it more than I do! How could you just push her off like that? She's suffering, she needs a boyfriend, not what you just did to her!" Douglas frowned and gave her a sorrowful look.

"Like I said. It's the porn life. Business, nothing personal." Sam turned her head away and lifted her eyes in disgust as she threw her shirt on. She needed to see Carly, and now. She quickly began heading for the door and Douglas lifted his head up. "Don't you want your share?"

"Keep the money. The sex was okay, but a little boring, actually." Douglas lifted his eyebrows up and shrugged as Sam ran out of the room.

It was not long before Sam arrived at Carly's door and knocked loudly. She hoped Spencer wouldn't be there, because she just knew he might throw her out. Chances were likely that he was actually at one of his classes, so she had no worries there. When the door opened, it was actually Sasha that was there. Suddenly Sam was struck with a nervous feeling, would Sasha throw her out? "Sam?" Sasha frowned and her eyes softened as she turned her head over her shoulder. "I guess you're here to see Carly?"

"Yeah, can I? I mean…I know you and Spencer kind of don't want us to be around each other, but I can't deny my sister." Sasha smiled sadly and invited Sam inside, she had no qualms about Sam being there right now. Besides, she deserved to say goodbye to Carly, granted she might not actually know yet.

"You're fine to see her. Besides…you might not see her for a while after this."

"Huh?" Sam raised her eyebrow and looked at Sasha inquisitively. Her heart stopped beating and she became deathly attentive. She knew the two were banning her from seeing Carly, but honestly, what extreme were they going to? "Is Carly going away or something?" Sam turned her eyes to the couch, and then she saw it. A brown leather suitcase sitting on the familiar old couch. It was a sign that took Sam's breath away and punched her in the stomach. "Tell me that's not hers…"

"I'm sorry Sam, but as of tomorrow, Carly's moving to Yakima to live with her grandfather." Sam placed her hand to her chest and quickly shook her head. Her eyes started watering and she quickly bolted for the stairs.

"No! I don't believe that!" She charged madly up the stairs and into Carly's room. What she saw astonished her. The room was practically empty, with only a few suitcases on the bed. Carly was behind the bed, wiping her eyes with her arm. Sam froze and Carly slowly looked into her eyes.

"I fucked up, Sam. I fucked up royally. I think Spencer hates me now…"

"Carly, no…say it's not true." Sam slowly walked towards Carly, her eyes filling up with fear and pain. What would she do without Carly? How could she honestly fare? Besides Carly, Valerie was the _only one_ that didn't treat her like a freak, or avoid her like the plaque. "I-I need you here, Carls."

"I…I can't talk Spencer out of it, I can't even talk to Sasha anymore. I really messed up." Carly fell against the bed and Sam quickly swooped in and hugged her friend. She clenched her eyes shut and cried bitter tears.

"You're the only one that doesn't hate me, Carly! You and Valerie! Why is this happening?"

"Spencer caught me at the park with Douglas. Douglas broke up with me and I wanted to get him back, but Spencer…he found me. He found out I lied to him…I put up a scene, stupidly, and got him in trouble with the park security." Sam gasped and her eyes widened, for once _Carly_ did something stupid, not her!

"I can't believe you did that! Carly, you knew Spencer was at his last straw with you! You got him in trouble with the security?"

"I didn't know that would happen!" Carly hugged herself and started to weep, she didn't want to leave. She hated her grandfather, she hated Yakima, she wanted to remain right where she was. "Sam I'm scared. Too many things are changing…I don't want this to happen to me. This _can't_ happen to me!"

"Carly…" Sam hugged her dear friend close and looked up to the ceiling. She could truly say nothing, nothing could make this better. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault, Sam. It really isn't." Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to ask you something. Do you…do you want to quit pornography? Do you want to quit your life?"

"What?" Carly pulled back from Sam and wiped her eyes, she chuckled through her tears and shook her head. "No way! I mean…you know how addicting pornography is. Right now…it's the only thing that I know to be true now." Sam frowned and closed her eyes, she knew Carly's pain. She wouldn't be able to see Carly off at the airport, there was no way either Spencer or her parents would allow it. "So…did you have a shoot today?"

"Yes. Douglas is going to post the video to the site now." Carly slowly nodded and leaned back against the bed. She pressed her lips together and gazed up at the ceiling above her, there were stars that had been there for many years. She would miss those stars desperately. She closed her eyes and turned over onto her side.

"Isn't your father investigating that website, though?"

"Yeah…" Sam stared off aimlessly for a second, then suddenly something hit her like a ton of bricks. Her father _was_ investigating the site, that meant he would see the shoot she just did! He'd know she'd been lying to them! "Shit!" Carly lifted her eyebrows and shrug.

"Just ignore it, he already knows…he probably won't do anything. Just…just be my friend right now, I really need someone." Sam smiled softly and slowly nodded, her tears gleaming in the sunlight.

"I'm here for you. I'll always be your friend, no matter what."

"Thank you…" Carly smiled as she and Sam shared what would be their final hug. They then remained in silence, trying to piece how their lives would be. Neither girl had any intention of leaving the lifestyle at the time, so that wasn't on their mind. What was on their mind, however, was if they would ever see each other again.

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><p>The next chapter will be a bit of a breakthrough chapter. This one was definitely rough on the two. It's getting worse and worse for the both of them, they just need someone there.<p> 


	16. Scared and Confused

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Posting this now since I'm starting Kaplan College tomorrow morning! ^_^

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><p>Chapter 16 (Scared and Confused)<p>

Sam walked down the dark streets of Seattle alone at almost one in the morning, she'd spent all night helping Carly to pack. Spencer had come by and allowed Carly to stay, but due to a recent conflict in his schedule, he told Carly her flight would have to leave in the morning. Sam wiped her eyes and stared down at her body with disgust, she'd not taken a shower since that sex she had earlier. She felt dirty, something she hadn't really felt about herself before.

She hugged her arms and looked up at the moon that was high up in the sky, it shone beautifully upon her. As nice as it was, the nighttime scared her. She found herself looking over her shoulder every few minutes, hoping she didn't come face to face with a gang member or someone who might think she was available for sex. She wasn't a prostitute, at least she didn't think she was. Yes, by definition, she knew prostitutes had sex for money, but she didn't do that, did she? She enjoyed the sex, a bit more than the money now, but either way, she did have sex for money. However, she didn't walk the streets looking for sex, so she wasn't a prostitute by _that_ definition.

She stopped moving for a moment and listened to the sounds of the night, the sounds that never seemed to be there during the day. The constant howling of the wind, the noise of cars traveling on distant streets, and even the occasional thump that sounded like somebody walking. She took out her cell phone and stared at it, she thought about calling her parents and having them pick her up, but she was pretty sure she'd get into trouble for being at Carly's. Regardless of whether or not Carly was moving. She noticed they'd called a couple times earlier, but the calls ended around eight. She wondered about why they would have stopped, her parents usually worried themselves to death. Her dad was probably going to be really pissed at her when she got home, she expected that. She knew he was working, and chances were highly likely that he saw Douglas post that video up. What she didn't know was how bad things could get for her, she hoped he would just let it slide.

"He won't…" She continued on and lightly rubbed her arm. She'd not stopped having sex she told them she would, she had constantly lied to her family. Maybe they were right, maybe she was disgracing the family name. She couldn't help it, sex was her drug, it made her feel good. It made her feel strong and empowered!

Sam lifted her head up as she walked onto her street, she was nearly home free. She'd passed Jonah and Valerie's home nearly ten minutes ago and peered into their window, they had been cuddled up next to the fireplace. Possibly having a romantic night before heading to bed. She smiled and moved her eyes down the street. "Jonah's a good boyfriend…Freddie too, I wonder if I'd ever have a guy like them in my life." She knew the chances were slim, very slim, but she could hope.

As she reached her home, she saw all the lights off in the windows, signaling her that everyone must be asleep. She smiled softly and carefully walked towards a cracked window. Her mother must have forgotten to close it all the way, thus leaving Sam with a way to get in and go to bed. Calmly and silently, she carefully pushed the window open. Once it was open all the way, she gripped the windowsill and pushed herself up and over. Carefully, she stepped onto the floor and she quietly closed the window.

She took a deep breath and carefully eyed her surroundings, she was in the kitchen. She steadily made her way from the kitchen and into the living room, stopping only when she caught the scent of her father's cologne. Suddenly panic filled her body as she realized stupidly that not everyone might be asleep. "Samantha, why didn't you use the front door, we left it open for you."

A small lamp clicked on and Sam quickly turned to see her father sitting in his recliner. Behind him, Pam stood with her hand upon his shoulder. Both looked very agitated right now, Sam was almost certain she needed to be elsewhere, but it was too late to run. "Mom? Dad?" She chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. How would they believe she fell asleep at Carly's, they probably didn't trust her any longer. "I'm home?"

"Sam, why were you out so late?" David stood from his chair and folded his arms over his uniform. He gave Sam a stern look and narrowed his eyes, expecting her to tell him the truth. Sam swallowed hard and turned her eyes to the side. What was she going to tell him? If she said she was with Carly, he'd get pissed, but if she said anything else, they would likely be pissed too. "Do not lie to us."

"I-I wouldn't lie to you guys." The parents did not change their angry expressions, though. She knew they didn't believe that. Hell, it was a lie anyway. David closed his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Where were you?" His voice seemed to blast out. He was at his wits end, as was Pam, Sam could see it in their eyes. She felt bad enough that she was causing a rift in the family, but she didn't like her mom and dad being angry at her. David turned his eyes to Pam, who merely shook her head and looked away. "Sam, you've been running your mother to the brink of insanity. Your aunts don't know how to respond to you, you've been lying to us constantly…Melanie called us tonight, Sam."

"S-She did?" Sam smiled warily and began to hope that Melanie was going to come back home. "She shouldn't avoid her family, right?" The two parents ignored the statement, though it weighed greatly upon their heavy hearts that one daughter was avoiding them because of the other. They knew something had to be done. Erica was right, Sam really defaced the family and needed to be punished. It tore them apart, but they could no longer trust her, they could no longer respect her as a woman because of her lifestyle. She was doing nothing to change, and didn't appear to be a respectable human being any longer. Pam took a deep breath, speaking the only words she wanted to say, because she did not feel like talking during this time.

"We were worried about you, Sam. We've been calling. We even called Melanie up, but she was busy. She called to return our call…" Sam frowned and slowly nodded her head, she never meant to worry them. Pam closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers along the top of the recliner. "Melanie said she didn't want to say, but because we were worried sick, she told us that she saw you go into Carly's apartment." Sam's eyes widened and David turned away from his daughter.

"I won't disown you, Sam. I would never do that to you, however…I can't in good conscience allow you to remain under this roof if you're going to lie to us, sleep around, and deface our family."

"W-What? Dad! You can't be serious! I didn't even do anything, I was visiting Carly because she has to leave." Pam moved her eyes to the side and bowed her head, no longer did she have control of the situation.

"Your mother and I can't trust you, Samantha. I was at work investigating that shady website, and what did I see?" Sam closed her eyes, anticipating a blow. She took a slight step back and shook her head, not believing what was happening. "You've been lying to us all this time!" Thunder cracked outside as her father turned his angry eyes upon her. She winced under his gaze and bit her lip hard. "Erica's right, you deserve to be punished! We've let you get away with this life of yours for far too long!"

"Dad, come on…I-I'm not a bad kid!"

"Not only that, but ever since your involvement in this crap's been revealed, my own reputation at work has been going down. They think I'm letting you get off scot free!"

"You're my dad, what do they expect?" David took a step closer to Sam, trying hard to fight down the hurt and betrayal he was feeling. He actually had given his daughter the benefit of the doubt when she told them that she was going to quit.

"How about what we expect as your parents? You've destroyed our trust, Samantha. You've destroyed our respect for you and you're tearing this entire family apart!" Sam winced and her skin tightened, she didn't want to cry, even though his words were cutting her like a knife. "Your uncle and cousin are probably going to spend the rest of their life in jail for killing someone that you slept with! Your aunts harp on your mother all the time, and she constantly blames herself for your actions!"

"Dad! I didn't mean to! Please…" Her eyes began to water as she saw the inevitable. She looked helplessly at her mother, but Pam turned away with tears in her own red, puffy eyes. Her mother was perhaps the only one left to fight for her, but the poor woman was all fought out, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Sam bowed her head as David pointed to the door and shouted out at Sam once more.

"Until we can trust you, until you can prove that we can ever earn our respect again, you are not allowed to step foot in this house! No daughter of mine is going to be an internet slut! I won't have it, I won't allow it!" Sam paled and quickly began shaking her head. Her legs started to buckle under her and she fought to remain standing. Pam winced at her husband's words, but she wasn't going to argue with him. Not now, she gave up already. "I run a respectable house, Samantha. I run a respectable work environment too, I won't have my officers thinking I'm letting you get away with a sex life. Not only that, but I have to deal with your mother bawling her eyes out every goddamn night because of you! I have to deal with Melanie moving out of the house and refusing to come back because of you! I won't have it anymore!"

"You're disowning me?" David's eyes softened for a second and a flash of sadness and hope pulsed through his eyes. He shook his head and cleared his throat, pushing down his emotions.

"No, I already told you I wouldn't do that. You're still our daughter, and yes we still love you, but my word is final…You can't remain under this roof. Pack your things and find somewhere else to stay. I'm sure someone will let you stay with them."

"Who? Carly's moving to Yakima tomorrow!" David pressed his lips together and slowly turned away. He had nothing else to say. If she couldn't find somewhere to stay, he would find a place for her. If she had to stay at a hotel for a couple days, he would pay for her to stay there.

"If you have to stay at a hotel, I'll pay for a few days, but I can no longer support you under this roof." Sam's word began crumbling around her as she gazed from her father to her mother, both were silent and both were averting her eyes at all costs. How could they do this to her? How could they just kick her out of the house like this? She trembled and felt almost like collapsing on the floor. Was this what her life cost her? Rage began to build up inside of her. So what if she disrespected them, so what if she shamed them, they still didn't have the right to kick her out did they? Clenching her fists, she threw her hands into the air, giving up.

"Fine! You want me out, I'm out! I don't give as fuck!" David quickly turned his head as Sam stormed off towards her bedroom. His heart broke at that and he'd become breathless.

"Samantha…" Pam sank into the couch and started to sob, placing her hands to her eyes. David sighed and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I'm sorry honey, I am…" She spoke no words. What could be said, she'd just kicked her daughter out of the house.

Within minutes, Sam left the house. Sure, her parents would have let her stay the night, but she couldn't bear staying there any longer. She didn't want to be a burden to them. She wept as she made her way down the street, carrying only a black suitcase filled with her clothing, and a small stuffed rabbit in her hand. It was brown and had a pink nose, she called it Choco.

She sniffed and kept the rabbit tucked under her shirt as it was now raining. Her hair was soaked and it was difficult to tell whether she was crying or if her eyes were just simply drenched with rain. She gazed up pitifully at the moon and tore her gaze away, she hated the tormenting feeling in her stomach.

Two bright lights stung her eyes when she stepped out onto the main road, she held Choco tightly and whimpered as a small brown sedan came to a stop next to her. She may be lost, she may be lonely, but she did _not_ feel like climbing into anyone's car. There was a Hispanic male with a red bandana on his head driving the car, he opened the window and beamed brightly at her. Sam eyed him carefully and took a slight step back. He was muscular, wearing a red wife-beater shirt, and blue shorts. "Hey chica, you want a ride?"

"N-No thank you…" She shook her head and stared down at the street, his tire was just behind a large rain puddle. The man hung his arm over his steering wheel and retained his smile.

"Come on, I'll pay you a good amount."

"I-I'm not a prostitute!" She spotted a revealing tattoo on his arm, it belonged to a certain gang that hung around the streets. They were constantly picking up prostitutes and usually had a large amount of money to give. Sam knew if she went with him, he might give her enough money to help her find a place to stay for a while. All she had to do was have sex with him on a regular basis. Her body tensed and she moaned in disgust. She was hungry, she was cold, and very confused. Should she go with this man and further disgrace her parents? No, she didn't want to, she wanted to avoid this.

"Aren't you that girl on the internet? You know, the porn?" Sam moaned and quickly shook her head. Not that life, god not that life, she hated it. She loved it, but at the same time, she saw it ruining her life. Then she remembered the warm glow that came from Jonah and Valerie's place, how they were cuddled up on the couch in front of their fireplace at midnight. They might be asleep by now, but maybe, just maybe Valerie would let her stay with them. What would it cost? She wasn't sure they would force her to pay any money, but she didn't know for a fact.

"N-No, I'm not selling my body to you…I'm sorry…"

"Aw, come on chica, at least let me take you in and give you a blanket." It was so tempting to go with him, her hormones were flaring up and the desire for sex was oddly astounding. She never noticed it before, but this lust was due to her lifestyle. She _was_ a drug addict! Her eyes widened as she took a step back, meeting the man's eyes. Would he hurt her? If she went with him, would he make her have sex with him? His gang wasn't a violent gang, but they were deeply involved with sex and drugs, they had a _very__bad_ reputation with women.

Her breathing became labored as she fought her feelings inside. Valerie, or this man? If she went with this man, she would turn her back on her family and her friends forever, kiss everything goodbye and become a full-fledged prostitute. That lifestyle would truly become her life, more so than it already was.

_No, you're stronger than this, Sam. Prove them wrong._

She tensed and let out a whimper as she clutched Choco even tighter. The car had a very musty smell to it, it was chipped and raw. The pleather seats were torn and ripped. There was also the burning smell of a lit cigarette. She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. As she closed them, the bright memory of looking into Jonah and Valerie's home hit her.

She could just feel that fire warming her body as she let out a soft breath and drifted off into euphoria. Maybe she could still have sex with people, but she knew she wouldn't disrespect Valerie by doing it in their home. Hell, she wasn't too sure she wanted that life right now. She couldn't figure it out, she couldn't get her emotions straight right now, that was just impossible.

The man groaned and moved his eyes to the road in front of him. "Chica, come on! I don't have all night, I gotta get back soon. Make up your mind!" Sam opened her eyes and the scent of alcohol caught her nose. That was his life, that was the stranger's life, it wasn't _her _life, was it? Was it where she and Carly were heading? "I promise I'll give you a place."

"I-I-I'm not sure." A new smell hit her nose, she could just imagine the cupcakes that Valerie made all the time. The warm, moist, melt-in-your-mouth cupcakes with multi colored frosting. Sam licked her lips and envisioned Valerie with a tray of those cupcakes standing in front of that warm fireplace. She felt clean, she felt pure, she felt warm and soft.

"Bitch, come on!" His voice jarred her from the fantasy and she narrowed her eyes, she hated when people talked down to her like that. She didn't want to fight with this guy, she didn't know what he might do. He looked at her, then smacked his steering wheel. "Fuck it, you're not worth it." Sam's eyes widened as he slammed his foot on the gas and drove off, hitting the puddle on the curb. She quickly turned to the side as the dirty water splashed onto her. She fell to her knees and began to sob, clinging the still dry stuffed bunny to her chest. Maybe she shouldn't have just ran from her parent's home so impulsively, but it was too late, she was too proud to go back there. She knew they would worry about her now, she could see that in their eyes, but they made their decision and laid their nest.

She lifted her head to the sky, her heart beating at such a rapid pace that she thought for sure she'd have a heart attack. She couldn't just sit there, she was scared. She pushed herself to her feet and closed her hand tightly on the suitcase. If Carly was gone, where all else was lost, and she didn't want to go to a hotel and cause her father to spend his money on her, there was only one place left for her. Just one person that hadn't given up on her yet. The only question was, how would her fiancé react? Only time would tell.

* * *

><p>Well, looks like Sam's made her decision. The ending part should be highly symbolic.<p> 


	17. Beacon of Hope

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 17 (Beacon of Hope)<p>

Jonah and Valerie were cuddled up in the vanilla loveseat that sat in front of the warm fireplace. On either side were end tables that had a glass of soda sitting on a coaster. On the opposite end of their living room were two cream recliners that sat on either side of a three seat couch of the same color. In front was a small television that rested on a pine oak television stand. The stand was large and had two doors on either side that opened up to reveal several movies. Their carpet was a soft, clean, peach carpet with a very light desert tone to it, matching the walls. Their windows had pearl curtains that were tied at the sides. In between the two front windows was the brown oak door with a brass knob. The door faced the television, the fire place was to the side of both on the left wall. Behind the fireplace was a small reddish brown desk with many drawers and a PC that sat upon it, the only computer in the house. They did not own a webcam, they never needed one.

They had a very comfortable life in a home that they paid rent for, with the help of their parents, who trusted them not to have sex before marriage. They upheld that rule firmly. Yes, they'd been tempted, but they knew the consequences of breaking the rule. Valerie had her legs propped up on the side of the couch and was nestled close to Jonah's chest. This was their night, the night they usually stayed up until one or two in the morning just cuddling together and talking. Most occasions, Jonah worked at the auto shop from early morning to early afternoon, and all his college classes were in mid-afternoon to late evening. He spent most of his time home studying. Valerie's schedule wasn't quite the same, her classes were in the morning and she worked at a bakery a couple days in the week from two to six. It wasn't until Friday night that Jonah and Valerie could really relax. Granted, they always enjoyed each other's company, it was the night leading into the weekend where they could just kick back and be together.

"Here's to us, Val." Jonah lifted his glass up and smiled as Valerie reached over and grabbed her glass. She smiled softly and clinked her glass with Jonah's. They took a drink and softly kissed. "This week's been real hard on me at the shop, I don't know what it is, but always around now you get parents having to bring their kids' cars into the shop. It really adds to the workload."

"Well, it's graduation time, Jonah. They have a lot of parties around now, and that usually means they're going to drive wildly, right?" Jonah nodded and let out a small grunt. It was a stressful week by far, so he was definitely grateful to have Valerie with him right now. "Just relax, don't think about work right now, okay?" He smiled as Valerie brushed her head into his neck. "We're together tonight, and that's all that matters. I'll make you your favorite breakfast tomorrow." Jonah closed his eyes and breathed in, imagining Valerie's fluffy biscuits with warm gravy mixed with sausage chunks, he never could get enough of that meal. Whenever she made the biscuits and gravy, she would always add a slice of her homemade pumpkin bread. She had too much fun with online recipes. Granted, she still tried to make her own recipes and was learning how to create her own in school.

"That sounds great. You know I love waking to the smell of your cooking, right?"

"You tell me all the time, baby." She giggled softly and placed her hand to her mouth, she honestly hated to giggle, especially when Jonah was around. He would tease her on occasion about it. He never worried about waking up too early in the morning, since she was almost always up early and making breakfast. He wouldn't miss her cooking for a second, his stomach wouldn't allow it.

"Well, I'll tell you again and again, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." She reached up and pecked his lips once more. She hummed softly and closed her eyes. The week had been rough for her as well, but Jonah had been so stressed through the week that she never wanted to bring anything up. Now was a good time to do so. With the whole thing going on with Sam and Carly, she was worried about the two. Jonah probably wasn't worrying too much about them, but he wasn't heartless, he did feel bad for the two going into the lifestyle they were. "Sam's been on my mind this week, Jonah."

"She has?" He lifted his eyebrows up and looked to her with concern. He knew how concerned for Sam that Valerie was, and in all honesty, he would have given up on both Sam and Carly. It was Valerie that made that decision, however. "Your patience amazes me, to be honest."

"I know you don't think much about them, but she's my friend. Her life is just going to hell and I don't know if she sees it or not. You know how I am, I worry." Jonah slowly nodded his head and kissed her forehead. She was right to worry, and he would not tell her otherwise. She gazed up at him with questioning eyes. "Do you think I worry too much? I just wish she'd give up that life, but I won't say that…"

"I know, you don't want to cause any problems. I don't think you worry too much, she's your friend and confidante, you have a right to be concerned about her." He leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes as Valerie circled her finger slowly on his chest. She was staring aimlessly at her finger and thinking hard about wishing she could do something for Sam. "I honestly don't know that she'd ever quit that lifestyle or not, I guess you just have to trust she'll always be a good friend. You're the only one that gives a damn anymore, in my opinion."

"That's what scares me…" He lifted his head up and frowned. He moved his arms to the top of the couch as Valerie sat up and stared into the fire. "What happens then? Her sister doesn't want anything to do with her, her family's practically shunning her, what happens if her parents can't take the pressure anymore?" Jonah turned his eyes to the side and breathed out. He would assume the worst, if everyone gave up on her. He didn't want to tell Valerie what was going through his mind, but he was almost certain that if something like that happened to Sam, she and Carly might fall into a life of prostitution. He wasn't sure, maybe Sam was stronger, but she sometimes had a weak will. That was something both he and Valerie noticed over the years. She succumbed to the temptation to do the wrong things.

"Just don't think too much about that. If push comes to shove-"

"We could save her from it, couldn't we?" Jonah pressed his lips together tightly and watched Valerie as she pushed her closed hand into her palm. "Maybe we could get her to see that she needs to change. I mean the path she's on…it's bad, and honestly…" She looked into his eyes with hope and determination. "I know you don't, but I still believe in her. I think…I think if she saw how bad things could get, she would change."

"Yeah, maybe…" He lifted his eyes to the clock on the mantle above the fireplace and sighed, it was almost ten after two. They really needed to get some sleep. "Should we talk about this tomorrow? It is getting late."

"Hm?" She turned her eyes to the clock and winced inwardly, she'd lost track of the time. They wanted to catch a movie tomorrow morning, but that might not happen if they didn't hurry up and get to bed. "Yeah, let's get some sleep." She turned her head to the window and frowned as a flash of lightning penetrated in, she had not been aware of the weather outside. "Wow, I didn't know it was raining out there."

"Must not have been paying attention to it." He chuckled and slowly pushed himself up. Valerie placed her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. "All right, go turn on the lights and I'll put out the fire."

"All right." Valerie moved around the seat and stopped, her eyes hanging on the window. She had a sinking feeling and was almost certain she saw something move outside. This was a good neighborhood they were in, and there hadn't been any burglaries lately, so it couldn't be a burglar outside could it? "Jonah?"

Jonah looked up from the fire poker in his hand and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" He followed Valerie's gaze to the window and smiled, assuming she was frightened by either the thunder or the lightning. "Ah don't worry, there's nothing out there."

"Yeah…I don't know what's come over me." Suddenly the silent house was filled with a violent pounding on the front door. Valerie shouted out and Jonah quickly looked over, raising his fire poker momentarily before a familiar voice started crying out to them.

"Valerie! Jonah! Please open up, I need you!" The couple looked at each other with astonishment and quickly moved to the front door, opening it to see their drenched and broken friend on the front porch.

"Sam?" Valerie noticed the suitcase in her left hand and the bunny in her right. Sam's hair was soaked clinging tightly to her shirt. Jonah rubbed his chin and stared at her curiously, she either ran away from home or had been kicked out, he was positive of that. She wouldn't just show up randomly at two in the morning without a damn good reason. "What happened to you?"

"I've been kicked out of my house!" Valerie gasped as Sam started to break down. She quickly pulled Sam inside and hugged her, letting her friend weep. "Spencer's sending Carly to Yakima, and I have nowhere else to turn! I'm scared!" Valerie felt her stomach empty as she looked to Jonah with concern in her eyes. This was what she had been afraid of. He closed his eyes and sighed, he knew well that Valerie wanted answers as to what to do next. He placed his hand on the door and looked outside for a second, making sure nobody else was out there. When he was satisfied, he closed the door and took Sam's suitcase from her.

"Get in the shower, clean yourself up and we'll throw your clothes in the dryer for you." Chances were the rain bled through the suitcase, so they had to be on the safe side and toss them into the dryer. Valerie smiled at Jonah and Sam nodded, appreciating the fact that he wasn't tossing her right back out in the rain. He did have a heart. "Did your parents seriously throw you out in this weather?" Sam choked up a sob and shook her head.

"They would have let me stay till morning, but they wanted me out. They said I lost their trust and respect, and that I couldn't live with them anymore…" Jonah let his eyebrows rise and fall as Valerie hugged Sam once more. He knew it would happen eventually, he just didn't think it would be so soon. "I couldn't stand it, so I left…and then it began raining."

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know…Daddy said he'd pay for a hotel for a few days, but after that…" Sam sniffed and Jonah lifted his hand up.

"Okay, okay, we'll talk about this later. Just get yourself cleaned up." Sam smiled gratefully at him and walked with Valerie towards the main bathroom. The pleasant smell of the house and burning firewood danced joyously in her nose. She took in everything, the sight, the smells, and the feel of the home. It was gorgeous.

Their main bathroom was located through the open doorway leading into a hallway with four doors. The two doors on the right opened into the master bedroom and the guest bedroom. The master bedroom was where Jonah and Valerie slept, in separate beds along the walls. They figured it was best until they were married to not sleep in the same bed. The beds were on the side walls with a large window in between them. The carpet was the same throughout the house, as were the walls. There was a television that sat against the wall facing the beds. Sitting in front of the window in between the beds was a large brown dresser. Next to the television were sliding doors leading into a long closet, and on the other side of the television was a brown door just at the foot of one of the beds, which led into the master bathroom. The door parallel to the television was the one leading from the hallway. Sam always enjoyed this room whenever she visited Valerie. It was a large and bright room.

The other room she enjoyed, right next to the master bedroom, was a somewhat smaller guest bedroom. It had a Queen sized bed with a modern style headboard. The covers were light brown and the bed was parallel with the side window. In front of that bed was a silver television and a cable box that rested on the small space inside the stand holding up the TV. Next to the bed was a small, fancy end table and a pink lamp with a white lampshade. On the side wall opposite the window, there was a large closet. This would probably be where she put her clothes, _if_ they let her stay.

On the opposite wall of the hallway, one of the doors led into a desert colored bathroom with a large square mirror next to a marble countertop. Two sinks were on the sides of the counter and inside the long counters was where they put their towels, toilet paper, and other bathroom materials. The hall of the bathroom led into another door which opened into a toilet and a cream bathtub. There was a silver shower head about six feet off the ground. It was a very peaceful atmosphere.

She thanked Valerie and began to undress after her friend hugged her and walked out. The other door in the hallway led into the laundry room. The pipes leading to the washer were actually separate from the showers, so people could actually run the water or use the washer and not affect the shower water. Sam stepped into the shower and pulled the yellow shower curtain closed, then reached down and turned the water on. She felt so filthy and was beginning to loathe the person she was becoming.

She grabbed the shampoo and started rubbing it into her hair, groaning in disgust as she felt the slime and gunk in her once beautiful, golden curls. Once the shampoo was soaked in, she took the body wash and covered herself with suds. She wondered if she would ever feel clean again, or had she screwed her life up that badly?

The sound of the dryer pulled her thoughts back to the house and she slowly closed her eyes. She didn't deserve their hospitality, if they actually bothered to care about her. She could hear Jonah and Valerie talking, but she didn't know what they were saying.

Another smell entered the bathroom and it made the corners of her lips turn up. Valerie was making something! She could really go for a cup of hot cocoa. But what was Valerie cooking? Sam breathed in the scent and waved her hand in front of her nose, it smelled like apples and maple. Her eyes shot open and her lips opened in a wide grin. She was making Maple Apple Crisp, a very warm and delicious desert that consisted of tender apples and maple syrup covered with a rich, crunchy topping. It was one of her favorite desserts that Valerie made.

Sam normally didn't take long showers, but as for tonight Valerie and Jonah didn't mind. She'd been in there for almost an hour, and sure they wanted to go to bed, but they were both concerned for her. Valerie pulled her crisp from the oven and set it gently on her marble, L-shaped counter. She moved her eyes towards the dark brown, oval table on the side of the kitchen and sighed. Jonah stepped behind her and kissed the nape of her neck, which relaxed her muscles. She didn't know how he knew to do that, but whenever he did, she always lost her tensions.

"All done with the hot cocoa, Val." She smiled and turned her head, kissing his cheek. She was grateful for his help. She already took Sam's clothes from the dryer and folded them up on the guest bed. They also had a towel heated up for her and set it on the bedroom counter.

"So…are we agreed, Jonah?" Jonah smiled slightly and slowly nodded his head, he wouldn't turn away Sam in her time of need if Valerie wanted to help her.

"Yes." He looked to the sliding side door of the kitchen and out onto the covered porch out back. There were two porch chairs on either side of the door and a small table seated in the middle of the porch. They would sometimes have a candle there and sit out there to read. He lifted his eyebrows up and turned his head to the kitchen doorway, Sam walked in fully dressed and with her hair up in the towel. She breathed in and smiled at her friends, giving them a hopeful look. "You all right, Sam?"

"Yeah, thank you." She rubbed her arms and walked towards the two, she was almost ready to be on her way if she was a burden to them. "I uh…I'm sorry to drop in like this." Jonah shrugged as Sam sat on the stool in front of the bar. Valerie smiled and placed her hand over Sam's, looking into her eyes gently.

"It's okay Sam, you needed someone to run to, and we're here. Do you need a place to stay?" Sam lifted her head up and her eyes began to water again, she honestly didn't want to ask them, but she really had no choice.

"Yes, but…would you let me stay with you?" She looked to Jonah, who lowered his arms and took in a deep breath. She knew she had to sell it, she didn't want to be a freeloader and she didn't want them to think she would be. She knew Jonah might have a hard time letting her be around, though. "I-I know I don't have a job, I don't have much to offer either…but I really am at a loss. I don't know what to do!" Valerie looked to her apple crisp and started to cut it into small squares. She would let Jonah do the talking now, they had already discussed this anyway. "I'll try to get a job if you want me to, I'll contribute to the rent, I'll do anything…even if it's just for a little bit…I-I have nowhere else to go."

"I don't know…" Jonah met Sam's hopeless eyes with a stern gaze and folded his arms back over his chest. Valerie set the knife on the countertop and placed her palms on either side of the bar. "I have one question for you, Sam. Do you want to quit pornography? Do you want to leave that lifestyle?"

Sam gasped as her heart pulsed and came to a stop, she knew that question might come up. Jonah narrowed his eyes and waited for her to answer, she knew she couldn't hesitate. She'd already thought seriously about that in the shower. She wanted her family back, she wanted their love, their respect, but she knew it was lost. How could she honestly prove herself? "P-Porn is a drug to me. I hate it, I want to stop, I want to quit, but…it's so hard…"

Jonah's lips tugged back as he turned his eyes to Valerie. He sighed and turned back to Sam. "There will be conditions, there will be rules. I want to make that perfectly clear."

"Rules? Conditions? Like what?"

"Well one, you have to quit your lifestyle." Sam held her breath as Jonah leaned forward and lifted his index finger. His lips were shut tightly and his expression was sharper than anything Sam had ever seen. Valerie closed her eyes and walked over to a cabinet above their white microwave which was seated on the corner of the countertop. "I want to make something else perfectly clear here, Sam."

"O-Okay…"

"Valerie is the _only_ person left that cares about you. If it were up to me, I would put you right back out there. That woman is sweet enough to let you stay, she believes you can quit and change, I don't." Sam's heart started to stall as she let Jonah's words sink in. She felt her nerves tense up and she slowly nodded her head, her eyes were beginning to become moist. "We'll let you stay here, but you _have_ to quit pornography, we're not even giving you that option. Yes, there will be rules, there will be conditions, and as long as you live under our roof, you _will_ respect those rules. You will respect Valerie and myself. Do I make myself clear? I'll repeat myself, _I _honestly don't mind having you here if you'll change, but it's Valerie who cares more. Again, she is the only one you have left that believes in you. If you screw that up, it's over. Got that?"

"Y-Yes, I understand. I'll try my best to quit pornography…It's just hard, it's like a drug."

"I know." Jonah looked to Valerie and watched her pull a plate from the cabinet. She set the plate down and opened a drawer next to the sink. She reached in and pulled out a small spatula, along with a fork. "That's what the rules will be based on, we're going to help you quit, but you have to be willing to do it."

"I will. Whatever it is." Sam slowly smiled and wiped her eyes. She was eternally grateful to Valerie and Jonah right now, she didn't want to do anything to mess that up. "What are the conditions?" Valerie placed a slice of the crisp on the plate and pushed it towards Sam with a smile. She then poured a cup of hot cocoa and set it next to Sam's plate. The girl grinned and grasped the fork, thanking Valerie sincerely.

"We'll go over those tomorrow. Right now, just enjoy Valerie's crisp and then get some rest. It's almost four. We'll talk about everything when we wake up."

"Okay." Sam took a bite of the crisp and sighed happily as the moist desert melted on her tongue and slipped down her throat, warming her heart. She opened her eyes and breathed out slowly. "What about Mom and Dad?" Valerie leaned against the edge of the counter, her right side facing Sam and left side facing the silver stove opposite to the counter.

"They were calling your cell phone while you were in the shower, so we answered for you." Sam slowly nodded her head as Valerie took a sip of her own hot cocoa. Valerie sighed and looked to her friend with a smile. "They were worried because you took off. We explained where you were and that you could stay with us under our conditions."

"Thank you again, you don't know how much this means to me. I know I don't deserve it…and I promise if you want me to get a job I will."

"Not right now, we need to work on your life first. After that's all cleared up, you can get a job. Right now, though…getting a job might be hard." Sam lifted her eyebrows and nodded as she turned her eyes to her drink. Not many people out there wanted to employ a porn star. Nobody would really know her own reputation. Only time would tell what would happen.

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><p>So Sam gets to stay with Jonah and Valerie, though under certain conditions, which will be made known in the next chapter. Do stick around.<p> 


	18. Conditions

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 18 (Conditions)<p>

Sam moaned as the sunlight hit her eyes, she opened them slowly and moved her hand down along the soft mattress. Her eyes traced the purple drapes over the window and slowly moved along to the end table beside her. The small alarm clock said 11:30, she never slept in that late. Granted, it felt nice to sleep in. She rolled onto her back and peered up at the ceiling fan above her. Today was the day of the family gathering that she'd been banned from. Her lips curled down in a frown and she slowly sat up. She felt heavy, knowing she'd brought that upon herself. She didn't want to think about it, but had no choice. She needed to push it from her mind. She looked to her left hand and saw Choco lying next to her. She smiled and lifted her bunny up and hugged it to her chest. "Good morning, Choco." She breathed in and closed her eyes, the house smelled so clean. Maybe she could do this, maybe she could fight this temptation inside her. She figured Jonah might have some pretty tough conditions, and she knew she needed to meet them all or else he might not approve of her staying with them. Even though Valerie convinced him and it was all her, he still had the say so as to whether or not Sam stuck around.

Sam quickly jumped from the bed and looked down at her reddish gown. She had no doubts about quitting, but she couldn't help but to be scared. She had to put it out of her mind. The smell of biscuits and gravy seeped under the door and hit her head on, causing her to gasp with delight. Thinking fast, she undressed and quickly looked for her clothes. Valerie must have already hung all her clothes up in the closet. She opened the closet doors, and sure enough, there were her clothes. She grabbed a purple shirt and long blue jeans, then put them on neatly. She grabbed Choco and ran out of the bedroom, hurrying into the hallway bathroom to brush her teeth. She needn't take a morning shower after having one just the prior night, she was already clean. Once she was finished with her teeth, she hurried out of the bathroom and stepped into the living room, joyously taking in the brightness of the room due to the sunlight.

Once more the smell hit her nostrils and she didn't want to miss that food. She made her way into the kitchen to see Jonah and Valerie already sitting down. There were three plates on the table, one plate for each of them. Jonah looked up and smirked when he saw the stuffed rabbit. Sam caught his gaze and felt her cheeks go hot. "So I sleep with a stuffed animal, so what? I can't sleep without my Choco."

"That's not a problem, I just think it's funny you're walking around with it." Sam gasped and hid the bunny behind her back. Valerie laughed once and playfully smacked Jonah's arm.

"Jonah enough, leave her alone. If she wants to carry her baby with her, she can." Sam sighed and sat down at the table, pulling her plate close to her. She would let them tease her about Choco for now, she found it amusing anyway. Sam took a bite of her food and looked up to Valerie, who smiled kindly at her. "How did you sleep?"

"All right, I guess." She had a few times in the night that she woke up in a sweat. The thought of withdrawal scared her completely. Then somewhere in the morning, she wasn't sure when it was, Douglas had called her phone to try and remind her of a shoot she was supposed to do later. "Douglas called me earlier…" Valerie frowned and Jonah gave Sam a skeptical look.

"And what did he want?" Sam looked to Jonah with an honest look and placed her hands on the table.

"He told me I had a shoot to do and to not forget it, I told him I couldn't do it today, that something was going on." Jonah hummed and took a bite of his meal. He was somewhat satisfied with that. He would rather she told Douglas that she quit, but it might be difficult for her to do. She needed to quit cold turkey, that was all. He and Valerie would be there for moral support. Sam's face scrunched with worry and she swallowed. "It was early in the morning, I was tired. Should I have said something else?"

"No, but if he calls again today, you need to tell him you're leaving that business." Sam slowly nodded and closed her eyes. She imagined the touch of a man and groaned softly as she pushed the image away. She was going to miss that. Jonah set his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Sam, let me ask you something." She opened her eyes and met Jonah's gaze, giving him a slow nod. "Do you know why Valerie and I refrain from having sex before marriage, or why it's best to wait? Besides the fact that our parents would probably kill us if we _did_, why we know how to resist the urges to do anything until marriage?"

"Um…because sex is…sacred?" Valerie smiled at Sam as Jonah slowly nodded his head and closed his eyes. He knew most porn stars out there probably didn't understand just how sacred sex was supposed to be. Whether or not they knew, whether they cared, they just blatantly had sex with whomever crossed their path. He wasn't too sure, but Valerie took an extra course in psychology and sociology, he'd helped her to study that course.

"Porn stars have a mixed view of sex. They tend to think of it as a means of pleasure, of lust. They forget the meaning of it, either that or they completely ignore it. When you meet the right person, Sam…that first time you make love with that person you create a connection, binding two souls together. Usually that's why people want to wait until marriage, because then they are certain they've met the right person and when that ring is put on the finger, it creates a physical and spiritual connection."

"Uh huh…" She understood this, but she never really gave much thought about it until now. "So, that first act of sex…it basically cements what the marriage does?"

"Yes. It creates an emotional bond between two people so deeply in love. It's a way of saying you give you share each other's body, each other's soul, each other's heart." Sam turned her eyes to her plate and began to feel as though she were to lose her appetite. She placed her hand upon her stomach and pressed her lips together. This was what was sacred about sex, and as porn stars do, they trample over that. "Porn stars rush over that, ignore it, and eventually if they ever even meet the right person…their mind is so screwed up that they won't even feel a connection. When people make love for the first time, if it's right, they'll usually feel something…usually all feels right with the world or they have such a feeling of euphoria that they can't get anywhere else. Do you honestly think porn stars are capable of this?"

Sam didn't know the answer to that. She knew that porn stars had sex with a lot of different people, so sex usually started to feel the same. Most often, it became tedious and boring. If she continued down that path, would she honestly feel anything when and if she ever met the right person? What would happen?

She turned her eyes to Jonah and shook her head as he pushed his fork into his mouth and bit down on the food. She recalled what happened between Douglas and Carly, and how Douglas seemed to not care at all about Carly. It was as though he couldn't feel anything, he'd become so cold and heartless. "No…no I don't think they are capable."

"Now that we've reached that. Don't you want to feel something when you do find that right person? A life in porn can't guarantee you'd ever find that person, nor can it guarantee whether you're going to feel anything special when you make love to that person."

"I know…" Sam's eyes started to water and she quickly shook her tears away. She understood Jonah perfectly now, she wanted her act with the right person to be special. She wanted it to _mean_ something. Plus, she wanted there to be a right person. "I-I hate porn, I want to change it! I want to feel something, I want to find someone who will love me, and I mean truly love me." Jonah curled his lips into a smile and took another bite of his food, his point had reached her.

"You'll do whatever it takes?"

"Yes! I promise! No matter how hard you have to be, no matter what condition…I…" She closed her eyes as Jonah and Valerie looked to each other with knowing looks. Her heart pounded in her chest and she pulled Choco close to her. "I want this."

Jonah let out a single grunt and wiped his lips with his napkin before taking a couple more bites. The girls watched him in silence as his eyes lifted up to the clock. It was now 12:15. He felt she was ready. "Okay then. Let's go over those conditions, then." Sam sucked in the air and looked up to the clock. Seeing the time, her blood ran cold. Jonah saw her look change to distress and tilted his head to the right. "What's the problem?"

"Douglas…He said the shoot was at 12 on the dot!" She wondered if her dad still had to monitor that porn site. If she made an effort to change and didn't post anything on that site, then maybe her dad would start believing her and trusting her again. Valerie frowned and looked at her friend with care.

"Do you think he'll call you?"

"Yeah, I don't really want to deal with him."

"Let us deal with him. You didn't tell him where you were, did you?" Sam looked apologetically at Valerie. She screwed up, she could barely think straight and did tell Douglas who she was staying with. The couple read her eyes and Jonah groaned in frustration. He was _not_ looking forward to having anyone in the porn industry coming to his home. Valerie gave her a forgiving nod and took a bite of her meal. "It's okay, simple mistake. He might have found out another way. Anyway, let's go over the rules Jonah set up. We talked them over and decided on these for you…"

"Okay." Sam wiped her mouth and looked to Jonah, letting him speak. She knew no matter what the rule was, she couldn't argue with him. These two may literally hold her fate in their hands.

"All right Sam, even with our schedules, somebody will always be here. We need to let you know that." Sam slowly nodded and folded her hands in her lap around Choco, who was seated there as well. "I work at the Nissan auto shop Monday through Friday from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon. It's just down the road from here."

"The one on Birchwood?"

"Yes. I'm also attending college Mondays, Wednesday, and Friday. My classes are at four in the afternoon and six in the evening. On these days Valerie's usually home. She has morning classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from eight in the morning to twelve in the afternoon. She also works those days from two to six, you know that. Again, I'm just down the street, I can _walk_ to work and I have a good vantage point of the house."

Sam knew he was basically saying he didn't trust her alone just yet, and it was a good concern to make. She knew if she really wanted to, she could slip out. Hell, knowing Jonah, he might actually have one of his friends come over during those hours for a week or two. She didn't think he'd do that, but he was pretty adamant on making sure she didn't have access to porn.

"You see the computer out in the living room. It will be _off _if nobody's home. We've put a pass lock on it, so you can't just turn it on and get in. We also have a filter and will be monitoring that computer." Sam took a nervous bite of her food and carefully agreed to those terms. She was _not _going to disrespect them or break their trust. She knew how it felt to do that to someone, after losing her parents' trust, she just couldn't bring herself to do that again. "Now to your cell phone. Your dad agreed to pay to put your cell phone on our phone plan. We'll be sure to have any numbers associating with your porn life deleted and blocked so they can't contact you."

"Okay…" She wondered if they already switched it over. Knowing them, most likely. She watched Valerie stand and walk over to the kitchen counter. She pulled a drawer open and took out a Nokia cell phone. Sam chuckled to herself and smiled, she had them pegged. "New phone already?" Jonah looked back and rested his arm on the back of his chair.

"Yeah, I went out and got it when your dad put the money on the card for me. Your phone number is different on that phone. Your dad's going to cut your phone there off at five today, it gives you a few hours to move your numbers from that number to your new one. Got that? Your father also paid a portion of our rent for you. He says he'll do that until we think you need to get a job. Understand?"

"Yes." It was already starting to sound a bit hard, and the lust inside of her wanted to run out, but this was for her own good. She was surprised that her dad actually was doing this. Did a part of him still think she was worth it? Did he still hope for her? Maybe both he and Jonah expected Sam would fall, hell even she doubted herself a bit, but she couldn't give up.

"None, and I repeat _none_ of your porn friends are allowed in my house. You have to understand that my father and Valerie's parents are also helping us with some of the rent here, if they think anything's going on, we're all in trouble." Sam felt her nerves spark up, she definitely hadn't thought about that fact. Now she really had to get serious about it all. "The second you let any of them in and do _anything_ sexual, you're out. I won't tolerate it. Until we can trust you completely, you're also not allowed to leave the house alone. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but-"

"Jonah, I understand. I wouldn't trust myself alone either…" With every urge and impulse inside of her firing up, she knew the two were correct to go that far. Jonah frowned and nodded his head. He was strict about his rules, but they were going to make damn sure she kicked her addiction.

"For now, Valerie and I were discussing maybe getting you to go to some morning SA meetings." Sam pressed her lips tight and slowly nodded. She may need that, but the thought of those meetings really scared her. She hated thinking of herself as an addict, but what choice did she have in that matter? She _was_ an addict.

"I don't know, I'm nervous about that…but, if that's what it takes, I think it'll be okay…"

"You know we'll be right here if you need anything. Valerie will probably be better to talk to than I will, but oh well. Now you know Freddie comes over every now and then, as he is our friend. Same as Melanie, so…I don't know how all that's going to go down, time will tell." Sam paled and subconsciously played with Choco's ears. Rubbing them usually calmed her down. She was getting very anxious, and hearing about Melanie just made it worse.

"Yeah, we'll see…" Suddenly Sam's cell phone flared up and she practically jumped out of her seat. Jonah and Valerie watched as she grabbed her cell phone and stared at it with wide eyes. "It's Douglas…" Jonah huffed and motioned with his hand.

"Give me the phone." Sam handed him the phone and calmly sat down, staring nervously as Jonah answered. "Sup, this is Jonah Brown speaking. How's it going Doggie?" He smirked briskly and Sam's lips twitched upwards. "Oh, I'm sorry, you wanted me to call you Douglas. Nah, I like the mutt better." Jonah stood up and turned to the back door. His chest stuck out as he took in air. "Listen here, Sam's no longer going to be a part of the porn industry, she's tired of it. Valerie and I are taking care of her and you are no longer permitted around her. You're bad news and I won't allow your kind in or around my house. And if I see you, I_ will_ call the cops. Just don't forget who Sam's father is, Doggie. That's all you need to know. It's over. Goodbye and have a good life." Jonah clicked the phone off and tossed it over to Valerie's lap. "That's done with."

"Wow…" Sam was stunned, Jonah handled that a lot better than she would have. "Did Douglas even have a _chance _to talk?"

"Nope." Valerie lifted the phone up and entered the address book, frowning as she scanned through the phone.

"Uh Sam, how many contacts do you _have_ in here?" Sam chuckled nervously and glanced to the side. Of all the contacts she had, about one third of them were important numbers. All the rest were her usual porn clients. "Who the hell is Chuck Andrews?" Jonah raised his eyebrow and stared curiously at Sam. She lifted her finger up and sighed.

"Just delete that number…You know what numbers are important, I think. So delete the ones that aren't my mother, my aunts, uncles, cousins, father, or sister. Also restaurants, I want those numbers. If they're a company, you might leave those."

"Yeah, okay." Valerie nodded and started going through the phone, sighing as she searched through the numerous numbers. It seemed like Sam had a hundred contacts!

"Jonah? Valerie? Do you think mom and dad want to talk to me?" The couple glanced at her with uncertainty, it didn't seem like her parents really wanted that. It was too painful for them right now. They seemed to think she would just lie to them. Sam read her friends' eyes and frowned. "I suppose not…"

"It's going to take some time before your family comes around, Sam. Even if they ever accept you back in the family circle, there's still going to be a big need for counseling." Sam stared down at her empty plate and a silent tear rolled down her cheek. Jonah and Valerie were fighting for her, what was she fighting for? Herself? Maybe she was fighting for her family. Her heart broke when she thought of her family rejecting her. She wanted to be accepted by them. She had to change her life, if not for them, for herself. "So…do you want to talk about last night?"

"Not really…You know for the most part what happened. Someone did try to pick me up, but I told them I wasn't interested…" Valerie covered her mouth and moved over to Sam's side. She placed her hand on Sam's shoulder and her friend rested her head upon her arm. "The guy took off when I refused. Either way, that's all done. I just…I want to say thank you to you…for letting me stay with you guys." Valerie hugged Sam and Jonah leaned back in his chair, smiling.

"Just don't screw up. Now hug your bunny." Sam laughed and held Choco close, she just couldn't part with that stuffed animal.

"It was given to me when I was just a baby...Choco's seen a _lot_ of stuff. So anyway, let's finish going through my phone."

"Right." Jonah picked up the two cell phones and carried his plate to the sink. Valerie took the two remaining plates to the sink as Sam carried the silverware over. Sam watched her friends walk into the kitchen and felt a sense of peace washing over her for the first time in a long time. Maybe this really was just what she needed.

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><p>The next chapter will be the family gathering that takes place during the day. We get to see a lot of Melanie and Sam's pasts pretty soon here. Oh, and Douglas <em>will<em> dare to show his face again. We'll see just how dark he really is...


	19. Family Gathering

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 19 (Family Gathering)<p>

Freddie and Melanie parked at the large army reserve building where the Puckett family was having the large gathering. They reserved it for exclusive access and had several festivities set up. Melanie smiled as Freddie pulled the clutch to park and turned his eyes to his girlfriend. She'd changed in so many ways after learning of her sister's ways, one was that she seemed more prone to anger. None directed at him or anyone else, just whenever she referred to Sam. Never before had she been so critical of Sam, but now she seemed to bash every little thing Sam ever did that she disagreed with. It got to the point where Freddie just simply didn't bring up Sam when around Melanie, if the woman was brought up, it would be due to Melanie's own thought process. "Well Mel, we're here, you ready?"

She smiled sweetly at him as he placed his hand onto hers. She needed his touch so badly now, so much that she just craved it. He was the very thing that calmed her, soothed her angry heart. Without him, she might cave under all the stress. "Freddie, I'm sorry about what's been going on lately. I really am." His eyes went down for a moment as he retained his smile and pulled his keys from the car.

"It's okay, I understand, and you have every right to be angry at what Sam's been doing. But Melanie, remember, you can't be angry at her forever." Her chest rose and fell briefly and she rested her head upon his shoulder, letting a stray tear run from the corner of her eye. She knew in her heart that he was right, but it was so difficult. Now, especially, since Uncle Carmine and Greg committed that murder. They wouldn't even be at the gathering and she was looking forward to seeing them for so long. She blamed Sam so much for that, but Freddie had told her that in reality while Sam's actions did indirectly lead to it, that it was their own anger and mindset that caused them to commit the crime. "Now things are probably going to be tense, and I'm sure everyone's going to be trying to not think about Sam right now and enjoy the moment, so let's just try to have fun."

"Okay, and I know you're right, but…It's just so hard." Melanie reached her hand up and rested it on his chest, curling her fingers on his shirt collar. "I just keep thinking, how could she do this to me? How could she do this to her _family_. After all we've been though, everything, why would she just turn her back like this?"

"It's that Douglas guy, I think. Chances are he's the primary cause for the girls dipping into that lifestyle." Freddie had lay awake at night, wanting to tear that man's head from his shoulders. He knew how Carmine and Greg felt, he'd almost gone there himself in recent days. Every man that looked at Melanie, every man that ever _fucked_ Sam and Carly, he wanted to kill them slowly and painfully. He wanted them to burn alive and rot in hell, but he was better than that. He _had_ to be. He had to be the strong one.

"How is it, of everyone, you're the only one not freaking out or going insane?" She raised her head up and peered into his eyes. He looked back with the tiniest smile and carefully shook his head.

"Melanie, if calmness and patience were to go to anyone, it would not be me." He watched as her lips formed an oval and slowly he closed his eyes. He never liked to worry her, that's why he kept most of his feelings inside. Though right now, she needed to know how he felt about things, she needed to know exactly what he was going through. "Where a man's home is his castle, Jonah's probably the best fit to be calm. There was a time when I was with Jonah, just a few days ago…Douglas showed up with one of his fucking clients…" Melanie's eyebrows rose and Freddie slowly turned his head to the side, grimacing at his use of language around his girlfriend. "He wanted to try and get Valerie and Jonah hooked up."

"What?" Her eyes went large as Freddie slowly chuckled, recalling that day as a vividly as if it were right there. "Right, it was Sunday. Jonah was sick and he made sure Valerie didn't break her usual routine to go to church with her family, but she made sure I was there."

"Yeah, I remember that…"

"Well, Doug here shows up and the minute he suggests those two go into the porn industry…" He recalled flying off the handle, almost getting up and strangling Douglas right then and there, but Jonah held him back before he did anything too rash. "I had my mind pretty much set on taking him out." Melanie cupped her hands over her mouth as Freddie gripped the top of the steering wheel with his right hand, gazing out at the family cars in front of him. "Jonah turned to Douglas, told him not to show up again, and sent the two guys out of the house without much else to say."

"I'm glad he was there! I wouldn't want you to get in trouble over this!" Freddie smiled warily as Melanie hugged him tight, fresh tears were slowly dripping from her eyes. "Freddie?"

"Yeah, Mel?"

"Thank you…" She lifted her head up and kissed his cheek. Her heart fluttered as his skipped a beat. She was grateful that he shared that memory with her, grateful that she knew she wasn't alone in her anger. His cheeks grew red and he slowly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah well, Jonah's pretty insistent on _no_ funny business around his house. He really does take care of things, he's perfect for the military." Melanie slowly nodded as she glanced over at the building. People were already beginning to go inside. Jonah was actually planning to join the Air Force after college, they had really great engineering opportunities. He had a close friend of his who was actually in the military as simply an enlisted. This man and his brother were sons of a General and highly respected in the military, so they were great people to know. It almost guaranteed Jonah a spot, considering how close the two were.

"Jonah's going to do well for himself. Valerie's snagged a good man." Freddie laughed and asked about himself, in which Melanie smiled and kissed his lips chastely. "So did I. I always hoped Sam would find a good man…but now, I'm not sure if she will…"

"Who knows, there's always someone out there for everyone. Let's get inside, we don't want to miss anything."

"Right." Melanie slowly exited the car and leaned against it, gently shutting the door behind her. She turned her head and watched Freddie as he walked around the vehicle and clicked the lock button on his keys. She placed her hand in his and struck a fancy pose. "Shall we?"

"We shall. You know, your grandmother may actually be shocked as hell to see what you've done with your appearance."

"Yeah, not caring." Freddie lifted his eyebrows up and started inside with Melanie. There were so many things about her family that he never really knew, such as, the 'hidden secret' behind the names of Mrs. Puckett and her sisters. As smart as he was, he never really cracked it, or _why_.

"So, tell me. Your Aunts and mom, what's the secret behind the names?" Melanie smirked and closed her eyes, she always held back just to keep him thinking. He was adorable whenever he really bothered to think about it.

"Think about it, it involves my grandma. J-maw maw." His mind rolled back to iCarly's golden days when things were great and they continually had really fun guest stars. Sam actually had done something with her grandmother and an imaging software, he chuckled and slowly shook his head. "What's her name, Freddie?"

"I don't know." He lifted his hand and began to count on his fingers. "You have your oldest, Aunt Janet, then Aunt Umika, Aunt Nancy, Aunt Isabel, your mom, Pamela, Aunt Erica and then you had one other?"

"Aunt Rebecca, she passed away in 2004 due to a horrible tragedy. We don't really like to talk about it, but we always remember her." Melanie loved Rebecca with all her heart, though she wasn't very old when the lady died. She was one of her favorite aunts, always smiling and handing out flowers. She was truly the sweetest of all of them. She clicked her two index fingers together and looked towards the ground. "I tried to emulate Aunt Rebecca all my life, I think I did a pretty good job of it."

"You must have done a pretty good job, then, if she was sweet as you are." Melanie blushed and slowly nodded her head.

"Anyway, Grandma's name is Juniper Daniels. She and grandpa had this crazy idea that they were going to have seven kids and in the order of their birth, name them with the first letter of their name spelling out their mom's name." Freddie's jaw dropped in shock as the two walked into a large, open room with many people in it. How could the answer be so simple? Then again, had he known the grandmother's full name, he might have figured it out.

"I can't believe it…I can't believe it's that simple! You're kidding, right?" Melanie giggled and shook her head. Freddie scratched his hair as he followed her to where her parents were sitting at a grey table. They smiled at her and eyed her new look with curiosity, it was literally the first time they'd seen her in person since the change.

As Freddie looked around, he saw six identical grey table, including theirs. Each had a family around them. On the far right of the open, white walled room, was Janet with her husband, Frank, daughter Annie, and her husband and little toddler. Next to her table was Umika, sitting with her husband Buzz, son Garth, and his wife Daisy. On the table beside them was Nancy, with husband Morris, daughter Tanya, and her husband Mark. Isabel's table was not empty, for an elderly woman and elderly man, Freddie could only assume was Juniper and her husband Hank, making sure their daughter wasn't alone during this day. On the table in after the Puckett clan was Erica, her husband Jack, and their son Jacob. Freddie leaned over to Melanie and whispered softly.

"I thought for sure your dad's sister Maggie might be here, his parents and her family too." David looked up from the table and over to Freddie with a slight smile.

"They chose not to come. Things got a bit busy for all of them. Plus, mom and dad were afraid of whatever 'drama' might ensue and were worried about their hearts." Freddie lifted his eyebrows up and folded his arms over. Nothing could be done about all that, then.

There was a lot of commotion in the room, everyone was talking to someone, but that all ended as Juniper stood from the table and started moving towards a podium. All eyes watched as she turned her head to the entrance and an elderly man entered the doorway. Freddie raised his eyebrow curiously and tilted his head. The man was hunched over slightly and using a dark walking cane, his legs were shaky, but he still appeared strong. He had a full head of thin, wispy, white hair and striking blue eyes that looked remarkably like Sam's and Melanie's. "Who's that?" Melanie turned her eyes to Freddie and smiled.

"That's great grandpa, Chuck. He's the patriarch, grandma's dad. He was born in 1911, surprisingly he's still in good shape." Freddie nodded and drew in a breath. Since everyone seemed so quiet, he figured that was a sign someone was about to speak. After all, the guest of honor, in Freddie's ever guessing mind, just arrived.

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><p>The next chapter may surprise you, feel free to gawk and enjoy. Stick around. Oh, and leave a review, make my day, and I may dance like a monkey. Oh wait, I don't dance, nor do I like monkeys, :P<p> 


	20. Monster

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 20 (Monsters)<p>

Juniper turned to her father and gave him a welcoming hug, she'd not seen him in quite some time. He hugged his daughter and turned to the podium, slowly clearing his throat and speaking with a slight cough at first. "It's great to see all my grandchildren here, or for the most part…" His eyes moved steadily along the members of the family, resting slowly on a completely empty table, representing Rebecca, then moving over to Pam's table. "Most of my children…"

"Things have been a bit…sorrowful…lately." Juniper had told her father about what was going on, and when he heard about it all, he nearly had a heart attack. He knew he wasn't much longer for this world, this gathering was likely to be the last time he saw _any_ of the family. "I know some people are missing, dad, but it's for the best."

"Hogwash." His voice shook out into the room as he raised his hand up and smacked it against the podium. "There is no excuse for denying a man the right to his family in his final years. This is a time to forget and forgive the transgressions, leaving your problems at home."

"I agree, but it was difficult to do."

The old man, Chuck was his name, gripped the edges of his podium as his eyes firmly rebuked his grandchildren. "I understand that one of my great grandchildren isn't allowed here. I won't have another chance to see any of you, that's why we're all here…" Melanie gasped softly as Freddie slowly peered to her, he knew what this meant.

"No…Sam loved Grandpa Chuck…" He frowned and placed his hand on Melanie's hand, squeezing it gently. "Every year, we'd travel to see him, at least two or three times we'd see him. Each time…Sam would just become so excited, she'd literally bounce off the walls." Freddie tried to visualize it, and was a bit surprised. Granted, there was probably more to Sam than he really knew.

He looked around, and judging by the expressions of guilt and sadness on some of the other relatives, they were thinking the same thing. This was curious, he honestly wanted to know just how close Sam was to Grandpa Chuck. "So, the whole family…"

"Mom's the one that visits Grandpa Chuck the most, mainly because Sam's always excited to see him. They have so much fun together playing chess, or making jokes, sometimes even pranking the other relatives. Everyone in the family _knows_ that he's her favorite relative, and they're pretty sure she's his favorite great grandchild. I mean, he doesn't get to have that much fun with Jacob…no offense to my cousin, but he's a bit of a loner…"

"I see…"

Chuck let out a shaky cough and closed his eyes. He already had anticipated not seeing Rebecca, he'd coped with that loss long ago. He would always remember his granddaughter bouncing happily on his knee as a little child. He truly did not want to see _any_ of his relatives missing. "My heart and organs are failing me now, I may have one or two more months left to live. I did not want to see any of my children gone on this day. I understand it's hard when a child does something that tears apart the very thing the family works so hard to achieve, and I understand the pain that is felt when a beloved relative commits such a devastating crime, but these things should not cripple a family. They should not cripple who we are. Yes, it's hard to trust again, and it's hard to respect, but whatever you do, don't disown your own blood." He turned his eyes to Erica and huffed gruffly. "And yes, I speak to you. You have changed much, since Rebecca's passing, become so much more judgmental of your family. During your sister's time of grieving, you only shun her and made it worse for her."

"I-I never meant to," Erica said with a soft voice. She knew better than to really interrupt or object to what he said, but in all honesty, it was hard for her _not_ to judge. Chuck slowly lifted his hand up and sighed.

"The damage is done. I'll be here for a few days, where my family is. I do hope someone will convince dear Samantha to come see me. I would like to talk to her, give her some advice that I'm sure she needs to hear." The family slowly looked at each other, most were unaware of where Sam was at the time. David and Pam knew she wasn't going to talk to them, not until she cooled off and got over their kicking her out. Chances were likely they would not hear from her for a long time. "Anyhow, let's get on with the family gathering. I'm sure Juniper's waiting to get started."

Juniper smiled and cleared her throat as her father stepped to the side. She smiled brightly and looked to her children. "So, we'll have a few games. Drawings, with prizes. Every member of the family has a name in a jar and they get the opportunity to win something big from it, this drawing will be in an hour. Garth has a karaoke station set up in the room down the hallway from this auditorium. We will also have family pictures taken…there will be a lot of fun. Like my father said, let's put the terrible stuff that's been happening amongst the family in the back of our minds today, and try to be happy in the moment."

Melanie gripped her pants with her hands and sighed as Freddie placed his arm around her shoulders. As much as she didn't like it, she knew she might have to call Sam up and let her know what's going on. Although, strangely her father said he was disconnecting Sam's phone. This meant her number wasn't going to be the same, she had no way of knowing how to contact her.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm starting to wonder…if maybe I was too hard on her…" Freddie raised his eyebrow as Melanie sighed and looked up, not entirely listening to her grandmother talk of today's festivities. She recalled the day and years with Sam before she got into that life, back to the happy Sam who loved her family almost as much as she loved that stuffed bunny. Melanie had a bunny just like it, Sam lost hers and Melanie gave her bunny to Sam, but she always said it was hers. Melanie wanted her to think of it as her own. She took that rabbit _everywhere_. It was like her safety net, her protection against whatever darkness there was. "This life…what she's gone into…it just isn't her, Freddie."

"I know." He pressed his lips tightly together and formed small lines at the corners of his mouth. Seeing Sam grow up with iCarly, he knew all too well that her going into porn just didn't seem right for her. "It was Douglas that roped her into it, both she and Carly. He's the one that manipulated everything…controlled it all…"

"And I _hated_ her for it!" Freddie slowly shrugged as Melanie looked at him, tears in her eyes and hurt in her heart. He knew she was still right to be angry at Sam for going into that life without thinking, but he never agreed with her for completely disowning her sister.

"What Sam did, yeah that'll never leave you. It's caused a lot of pain, but you kind of have to remember…" Freddie slowly stood up, as everyone else was beginning to stand and move around. Melanie stood with him as he turned his eyes to hers. "She's still your sister, and she's hurting too. Inside, she has to be. The way you say she is, the things I don't even know about her that she hides with all that toughness…her love for her family, her love for her Grandpa Chuck, that stuffed animal…it just doesn't make sense that she _wouldn't_ be suffering."

"Yeah, but it doesn't change what happened…"

"No, it doesn't." Freddie's face grew grim as he watched Pam and David walk off to another area of the room. He smiled sadly and closed his eyes. "Just remember this while you move back in with your mom and dad. They didn't disown them, they didn't tell Sam to her face that they hated her, and I don't think they could…"

"I never told Sam I hated…" Freddie gave her an honest, but stern look, and she soon second guessed herself. The fight in the groovy smoothie, the whole changing of appearance, if that didn't cause Sam some great amount of harm, then what would? Her family disowning her, definitely. Yet, Freddie was right, they didn't disown her, they just didn't trust her anymore. "I…I disowned my sister…I gave her Choco the bunny and _I_ disowned her…"

Freddie pulled his lips back and took her hand as she bowed her head to the ground. Her mind was reeling, confusion clouded her brain as her eyes began to water. She was still very angry at Sam, she was still not sure she could trust her, but could she really forgive her? "Let's talk about this later, Melanie. Besides, I always wanted to know about your Aunt Umika."

"Aunt Umika was adopted as a baby…" Melanie's voice was soft and quiet, Freddie knew he wasn't going to get much from her. She closed her eyes and sighed quietly. "She's Japanese, but not much is known about her parents. She was born in America in 1959. Grandma June adopted her then when she was pregnant with Aunt Nancy, that's how she became Aunt Umika. She doesn't know much about her origins, nor anything about her parents…Grandma could never find out who they were, Aunt Umika never wanted to find out either. She grew up as though Grandma were the birth mom."

"Oh…well…" Freddie's phone started to go off and he jumped from the shock. He pulled the phone from his pocket and took a glance at it. "It's Jonah."

"Go ahead and answer it then…I'll be all right." Freddie hesitated before clicking open the phone and watching Melanie walk off into the bathroom. She went in to wash her face. Silently, she stared at herself in the mirror. She didn't want to change her look, it was a statement for a reason, but now she wasn't sure how she felt about herself. She definitely didn't want people mistaking her for Sam. Just what would happen, though, if more people saw the real Sam and not the Sam who whored herself out on porn sites? What would happen if they didn't see the thick skinned Sam, but the girl who had always been so joyful and perky when it came to her family?

_"She's always been lost without her family…"_ Melanie turned on the faucet and swallowed hard as she ran her hands underneath and splashed the water onto her face. As she met her eyes in the mirror, she saw the terrified eyes of her sister staring back at her.

_ Those eyes belonged to the ten year old Sam Puckett, lost in the woods on a family camping trip. She was clutching her stuffed bunny with her and peering over a cliff, trembling with fear. Surrounding her were miles of trees. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to use the Wizard of Oz as a way to get back home, but only started to cry when that didn't work._

_"Where's Mom? Dad? Uncle Frank? Anyone! I'm lost!" Sam turned around and walked down the dark woods, cold and alone. Terrified as the sun was beginning to set. She hated the night, that was always when the monsters would come out. Her whimper could be heard echoing through the woods, and her only response was the howl of the wind or the crooning of an owl._

_ As she clutched the bunny tighter, she tripped on a rock and screamed as she lost her grip. The rabbit flew from her hand, bounced on the ground and rolled off of the cliff. "No!" She pulled her knees to her chest and screamed out again, sobbing as she stared back at the cliff, her favorite bunny, gone._

_ "Sam? Sam! Where are you!" Sam's head shot up and she looked at the trees to her right. Was she hearing things? Her heart started to quicken it's pace as she cried out for her sister. "I'm coming!" _

_ Through the trees ran her sister, Melanie. They always had each other's back, no matter what. Melanie was usually more insecure than Sam was, usually had more fears and dangers, nor was she as active as Sam, but when night came along, it was Sam that needed Melanie the most. Sam pointed to the cliff and sniffed. "S-She fell…"_

_ "What? Who fell?" Then she realized that Sam's bunny was gone. Thinking fast, she grabbed hers from the pack on her back and handed it to Sam with a smile, she could do without. "Here, take Choco. She can be yours now, okay?" _

_ "R-Really? But she's yours."_

_ "I'll be okay, I have more stuffed animals. Choco can watch over you now. If you want, you can say you've had her all the time and I'll be the one that lost her, but she's yours. Okay? Come on, I know the way home…"_

_ "Okay…I'm just…I'm scared of the monsters. They might come get me." Sam sniffed as she took Melanie's hand and smiled through her tears, relieved that her sister made it there. Melanie smiled and shook her head._

_ "No monsters will get you, I won't let them. Besides, Mama's waiting at the cabin with Aunt Janet, they cooked something special!"_

_ "Yummy! I love Aunt Janet's cooking!" And there they ran for the cabin together, running for the arms of their mother who proceeded to hug them tightly, never letting go._

Melanie broke from her memory and found herself gripping the sink tightly, her eyes watering. When had Sam left? In the night? "Cold and alone…the monsters…" The monsters had been there all along, maybe Sam knew it, maybe she didn't. Melanie turned her head down, her body trembling as she shook her head fiercely. "I-I let her go…I disowned her." She took a deep, trembling breath and sighed. "No, no collect yourself. This is going to be about the family, let's be happy."

After splashing the water on her face once more, then taking deep breaths to collect herself, she left the bathroom and met up with Freddie, who was patiently waiting for her. He smiled at her as Melanie gave him a look of guilt. "I let her go into the night, Freddie…she's out there…lost, alone, cold, confused, scared, and I-I let her go."

"Well…"

"What have I done to my sister?" Melanie grabbed his shirt tightly in her hands and began to cry. Why was it that she had so much trouble _not_ crying? "I disowned her in front of everyone, I basically told her I hated her. Freddie, am I a bad person?"

"No…you were just angry, hurt, and betrayed. You're not a bad person."

"But in return…I hurt her, didn't I!" Freddie moved his eyes to the side and pressed his lips together. Did she want him to agree, or to disagree, he didn't know. It pained him to see her like this.

"I suppose now would be a good time to say…she's safe."

"But how do you _know_? She's always hated the nighttime, Freddie! The monsters! They're out there!" He raised his eyebrow and slowly shook his head. What monsters was she talking about?

"They won't get her, believe me."

"No, you don't understand! She's scared of the night! She scared of the cliff, of being alone, of losing her family…"

"Cliff?" Melanie shook her head and Freddie slowly cleared his throat. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, silencing her. "Melanie. She's with Jonah and Valerie, Jonah just called me to say that." Melanie's eyes widened and her heart jumped up. She was at least happy to hear that, because it meant he was right, Sam _was_ safe from the monsters. "Jonah wouldn't dare let any 'monsters' come around his house, so none of them are going to find Sam. Got that?"

"Y-Yeah…" She couldn't think of anything else, so she just hugged him tightly, thanking him. He was a bit surprised and wondering what had happened, but he wouldn't ask. He just simply hugged her close, letting her know he was there, letting her sob quietly. "She'll be okay there…no monsters there…"

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><p>Well, you guys are going to enjoy the next chapter, I'm sure. Well maybe not, probably the one after that XD. Let me know what you liked, didn't like, and so forth ^_^<p> 


	21. The Monster of the Night

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 21 (Monster of the Night)<p>

After the family gathering, which Freddie and Melanie had a lot of fun in after she finally relaxed, they were in the car and heading towards Jonah and Valerie. Melanie had her window rolled down, elbow hanging out, and the wind sweeping through her hair. She ran her tongue over her lips and watched the buildings fly past. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed softly. Sometimes she wondered if hair dye actually dried out the hair. She turned her attention to Freddie and railed her eyes along his strong arms and strong chest. He really had been working out lately, trying to stay in shape, and he'd done a damn good job of it.

She tore her eyes from his chest and sighed, it was sometimes difficult to resist that impulse to jump him. She wasn't that type of girl, but they did have a lot of sexual tension that they harbored. "You told Jonah we were coming?" Freddie came to a stop at a red light and looked over to Melanie with a brisk nod. He usually told Jonah when he was coming over, so as to not drop in on them. It was just a bit after five, not a big issue considering Valerie would just be starting dinner.

"The radio buzzed with the announcer and Melanie turned her eyes towards it, listening for the song to play next. It was Roxanne, by the Police. "You know, I heard that song in the one musical, Moulin Rouge. It was awesome." The light turned green as Melanie lifted her eyes from the radio, not responding to Freddie's statement. The song itself spoke enough to her. Freddie tapped his fingers upon the wheel as something inside them made them begin to sing along gently with the song.

She could see her, arms sliding along her sides as she enticed a stranger. It wasn't her, it just wasn't who she was. Money was strewn about her feet and her eyes brightened at the sight. Melanie's soul sang that song loudest. In each family car, that song was on the stereo, and each person felt that song tune to tune with their own hearts. There was only one person they could think of to sing that song for.

_"Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light. Those days are over, you don't have to sell your body to the night. Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight, walk the streets for money, you don't care if it's wrong or if it is right."_

Janet's van rang loud with the song on the radio, her eyes drifted to it in narrow slants. Her husband looked up from the book he was reading and frowned as her daughter and son in law rested in the back seat, ignoring it. They all had one person on their mind, and hoped she'd hear their souls cries for her. Maybe she'd save herself, but now nobody really knew where she was.

_"I loved you since I knew you, I wouldn't talk down to you. I have to tell you just how I feel..."_

Juniper flipped the radio off and looked at the car behind her, her father's car. He had a frown upon his face as he too was singing along with the song. His eyes were misty with tears. Surrounding her on the freeway were the cars of the other relatives. Their faces hardened, their eyes misted or avoiding, none of them felt right about what had been going on. They wished they could trust her, they wished they could believe Sam would ever change, but they had doubts in their minds.

_ "I know my mind is made up, so put away your makeup. Told you once, I won't tell you again. It's a bad way!"_

Erica leaned against the passenger doorway as her husband drove their small sedan. In the backseat, Jacob had the song going on his ipod, unaware that the one station the family was really able to hear clearly, was playing the same song. His mother looked in the backseat, listening to him sing that song.

Maybe her grandfather had been right, when Rebecca died, she really had changed quite a bit. She'd become hardnosed, cold, sometimes even unfeeling. That was normal, wasn't it? Wasn't that what happened to you when your favorite sister died?

_"Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light. Those days are over, you don't have to sell your body to the night."_

At Valerie's home, Sam seated on one of the recliners in the living room. The fireplace was going and the sun was starting to set. She was beginning to become uncomfortable now. Since her new phone had all her important numbers, _no porn_ numbers, and Douglas hadn't been able to contact her since Jonah spoke with him this morning, would he try to find her? He was just another one of those monsters that came out at night.

Valerie was out shopping and Sam wasn't entirely sure where Jonah was at, she knew he was somewhere in the house. Maybe he was asleep, she wasn't sure. The one thing she was sure of was her boredom. That was not a good thing. When she was bored, she did things.

Her eyes drifted over to the PC and she began to sweat. She knew she couldn't possibly get past the filter Jonah and Valerie set up, but it was so damn difficult. She couldn't lie to them, she couldn't break their trust. She couldn't very well go anywhere, Jonah didn't let _anyone_ drive his truck, which was a black, four door 2010 Nissan Frontier King Cab. It was _beautiful_! Valerie had a 2009 silver Nissan Altima, which she drove frequently. Sam wasn't allowed to drive that car, either, unless Valerie or Jonah were there with her.

She shook her head and stood from the recliner. She had to do something, she had to get her idle mind busy on _something_. Thoughts of sex were shifting through her brain like racecars on a race track. She turned and began walking towards the kitchen, stopping only as she saw a door she never really bothered to notice. It was on the far left wall, slightly cracked open.

She moved slowly towards the door and opened it to reveal wooden stairs leading down into a lit basement. Smiling softly, her heart lifted. Finally, there was something to keep her mind off of sex. She could explore the lower room, if there was anything interesting down there at all.

She slowly descended the stairs, taking in the pine smell of the stairway. It matched well with the brown shag carpeting at the bottom. Turning around on the floor she took in everything she saw, such as a big desk on the side wall with a large spreadsheet. There were models of airplanes meant to be studied and worked on placed neatly about the room. Along the side were two workout benches and two treadmills, Jonah was on one of the benches and lifting weights.

When he spotted her, he slowly sat up and took the towel from his shoulders, wiping his face gently. "Sam, what are you doing down here?"

"I was curious. I didn't know this was like your study and gym. I guess this is where you study for your classes and everything?"

"Yeah, though Derek, Freddie and I work out down here on occasion."

"Derek?"

"He's another one of my good friends." He stood from the bench and tossed the towel onto it. He moved casually towards the desk and stared down at the large blueprint. "I want to join the military after college, hoping to become an aviation engineer, maybe working with the structure and make of airplanes. I've actually already learned a lot about the military from Derek and his brother, so I've got time to prepare for that."

"Wow…Valerie must be thrilled."

"She's happy about it. Her mom had once been in the military, but was discharged when she had an accident overseas and lost her ability to walk. She says none of her sisters plan to join the military, but the fact that I would join it sort of helps continue the legacy of her family, in a way."

"Yeah, because she's marrying a military man."

"Yep." He leaned against the table and looked upwards towards the steps. He was ecstatic just thinking about how his days in the military would be. Valerie would make a perfect wife and they would have a perfect family, at least that was the dream. Nothing was ever perfect, but one could always try. He knew no matter what, he would try to be the best father to his children that he could be. "So…you looking forward to church tomorrow morning?"

"Honestly?" Jonah raised an eyebrow as he trailed his eyes to Sam. She sighed and closed her eyes anxiously thinking about church. She wanted to go, she was ready, but she was very afraid. What if people judged her? What if really bad things happened? Although she couldn't think of any, she was just simply thinking of reasons not to go. She knew she didn't have a choice, Jonah and Valerie were not leaving her alone at the house. "I'm terrified! Aren't I also meeting Valerie's whole family there? Her family as well as your dad and sister?"

"Technically you've already met all of them. One way or another, but they won't judge you. Just have a good time."

"Easy for you to say…you're not the one trying to quit porn…" Jonah chuckled and shook his head as Sam started to head back up the stairs. Anything was possible. Maybe she could change. She stopped at the top step and looked back down the stairs. "Are you going to stay down here for a while?"

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Sam pressed her lips tightly together and turned her head to the kitchen window, frowning as the darkness started to set in. Her senses were beginning to heighten and she clenched her eyes tightly shut. She needed to grab Choco, at least then she'd feel safer.

"No, no problem at all. When will Val be back?"

"She shouldn't be gone much longer."

Sam nodded and shut the door behind her, stepping into the kitchen. Nothing could get her here, right? No monsters allowed. Thinking fast, she made her way to her bedroom and grabbed Choco up from the mattress. She smiled pleasantly and returned to the living room. She was thinking about maybe watching some television, it would relax her. If not, then perhaps playing checkers or something online, anything at all to keep her mind at rest.

As she started to sit at the computer, a sudden and swift knocking erupted on the door. Sam gasped and looked in the direction of the sound, her hand placed softly on her chest. As she recovered from the shock, her eyes drifted towards the knob. She hesitated a moment, waiting as the person knocked again. It was far from a soft knock, it was a hard, rough clamor that sounded more of a pounding than anything. Whoever was behind that door was furious about something. Maybe Jonah knew someone who wasn't happy with him about something, but that seemed unlikely.

Something inside her said to go get Jonah from the basement, to not answer the door. She pushed the feeling aside and slowly made her way to the door, wincing as the fierce knocking erupted once more. It was well on par with the slamming of her heart. Whatever, whoever, was behind that door was probably someone she didn't want to associate with. _"Go get Jonah, let him answer the door. Do not answer the door."_

Her body had every impulse to run, but the fact that she was already right there made her answer it herself. She gripped the doorknob and slowly opened the door, taking in a sharp breath and holding it. Standing at the doorway was Douglas, and he looked very pissed. "Douglas?"

"Sam, what the hell are you doing?" Douglas stepped in the house and Sam quickly took a step back, peering towards the kitchen.

"You can't be here, Doug. No one wants you here." He shrugged it off and moved in closer, glaring into Sam's eyes as she turned her gaze back to him. Her heart strained and she felt herself shrinking.

"What is this bullshit I hear about you _quitting_ the porn industry? You _can't_ quit! I own you!" Sam's eyes widened and he grabbed her wrist, letting a small growl escape his throat.

"Please! I just want to have my life. I want my family, I want my friends, I-I'm nothing without them!"

"You're nothing without me, you got that? I _made_ you and I can also destroy you. You'd never do business in the internet porn industry again."

"Good! Maybe that's what I need!" Douglas growled and twisted her around, wrapping his arm around her stomach. He slammed her against the wall and moved close to her trembling body. She let out a squished whimper and tried to call out for Jonah, but her voice merely squeaked.

"Listen here. You are my only moneymaker right now. I just fucking lost Carly to fucking _Yakima_."

"You're the one that dumped her, asshole!" Douglas roared with anger and pressed his hand to her head, pressing her hard against the wall. She yelped as pain surged through her body. "Why are you doing this?"

"You need to learn where your place is. You're my star. I can't make money, if I lose money, I default on my house and everything. I'm not a porn star, I'm a fucking cameraman, a producer. You think you can just walk out and never look back?"

"Please…leave me alone." She tried to move her arms, but he had his hand so tightly gripped around her wrists. If they were free, she could surely break free and possibly kick him to the ground. "I don't want to be a porn star anymore…I _don't!_"

"You fucking bitch, you can't _quit!_ It's not that easy, it doesn't _work_ that way!" He had a very hushed tone, simply because he had a feeling someone else might still be in the house. He was actually afraid of Jonah, he knew Jonah meant business when he said something. "Now shut up and tell me who's in the house right now."

"J-Jonah…" His eyes flickered and he quickly glanced to the side, this action revealed fear to Sam and she felt a little better on the inside. If he was really afraid of Jonah, then maybe she really would be safe in this house, but she just had to alert him somehow.

"Fine, but don't try anything. You're going to come with me, and you're going to make money."

"What happened to that six hundred?"

"I got fucking mugged and spent the rest on liquor…" Sam narrowed her eyes as Douglas leaned in close. His hot breath hit her neck and sent shivers of fear rolling down her spine. "But let me repeat myself here. You can't quit porn, why? I fucking _own_ you. You're mine, and unless _I_ say you can't shoot any more, then you're not leaving."

"No!" She struggled, causing him to push her onto the ground. Her eyes shot up at him as he hovered over her, glaring at her as she turned onto her chest and started crawling away from him.

"Not so fast!" He grabbed her leg as she started clawing the carpet, trying to muster up the strength to scream for Jonah. In the next few seconds, she felt a release. Douglas had let go? She looked back and her eyes widened, Melanie was standing where Douglas had been, she'd pushed him to the ground.

"You don't own shit!" Melanie's shout jarred Sam to reality, she'd never before heard her sister use such language. Not in such a serious manner. Her eyes dashed over to Choco, who was laying on the ground just a few feet from her. She shot towards the rabbit and grabbed her up. She turned her eyes back in time to see Freddie charge in and leap onto Douglas, pounding his fist hard into the man's face. He let out a scream as blood smeared his face from the blow. Thinking fast, Sam started smacking the ground, hard.

"Jonah! Help! Come upstairs!" Douglas's eyes widened as Melanie quickly knelt beside Sam and looked over to Freddie. Within seconds, Jonah was upstairs and in the living room.

"The hell? I thought I told you to stay the hell out of my house, asshole!" Jonah quickly swooped down and pulled Douglas to his feet, then slammed him against the wall and held his wrists firmly at his lower back. Douglas groaned and winced painfully, blood slowly trickled down to his chin. He attempted to struggle free from Jonah's grasp, but the man had a firm, military like hold on him. "Freddie, there's a pair of cuffs in the desk drawer right over there. Grab them for me, would you?" Freddie nodded and did as instructed. Jonah carried handcuffs due to a suggestion by his friend that if he subdued a criminal in his home, handcuffs were good to have on hand while waiting for the police.

"Here."

"Thanks bro." Douglas sighed and lifted his eyes skyward as he felt the cold hard steel slapped onto his wrists. This was simply the life of porn, that was it. He looked over to Sam, who was wrapped in the arms of her sister and sobbing lightly upon her shoulder. The sound of shopping bags landing on the floor echoed through the house and everyone saw Valerie standing at the doorway with her eyes wide. In an instant she was at Sam's side while Freddie called the police. Douglas would not be bothering Sam again for a while.

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><p>Douglas, always the asshole. Well, he's out of the picture for a couple days. Good thing Melanie and Freddie arrived when they did, Douglas might have kidnapped her unless she screamed loud enough for Jonah. <p>


	22. Sister to Sister

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This chapter features a song called "count on me" by Sister 2 Sister, so it's not mine, obviously.

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><p>Chapter 22 (Sister to Sister)<p>

After everything settled down and the police were gone with Douglas, Sam was seated on the middle couch cushion with Valerie and Melanie on either side of her. Jonah and Freddie were talking briefly while Sam sipped a cup of hot cocoa. Jonah rubbed the back of his neck while Freddie had his arms folded and head nodding slowly. They were discussing the circumstances of Sam's living with them. She was doing much better now with everyone there and Douglas gone, she just wanted to feel safe. They turned to her and she glanced at them with a smile. "Well, he won't be coming here again, Sam."

"Thanks…" She slowly sipped her drink and eyed her sister carefully. Melanie was watching her, but Sam couldn't read her expression. It was a mixture of sadness, guilt, and joy. Sam swallowed hard and breathed out a small sigh. "So Melanie, you…what are you doing here? I never thought I'd see you again…"

"I couldn't very well leave my sister alone in the dark." Sam gasped as Melanie brushed Sam's hair back and smiled softly. Her lips quivered and her eyes started to mist over. "Besides, there were some things that happened at the family get together…Grandpa Chuck was there." Sam's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes grew large and mournful, how could she possibly miss him? "He wants to see his favorite great granddaughter before he…passes on."

"What? Grandpa Chuck wouldn't die!" Melanie pressed her lips firmly together and let out a sorrowful breath.

"His organs are shutting down, he's had a long, fulfilling life. He's here for a while and would very much like for you to see him before he goes back home." Sam cupped her hand over her mouth and a deathly silence filled the air. Her eyes were large and moist, her heart froze in mid beat. Her favorite grandparent was _dying?_ Sure, it made sense considering his old age. "I know nobody else in the family knows where you're at…So nobody really can find you."

"In case you didn't notice, Douglas found me…" Melanie winced and Valerie hugged her friend closely. Sam folded her arms over her chest and scoffed as she peered towards the PC. "I guess that's the life of a porn star…if it's not sex, it's abuse."

"Has Douglas ever acted like that before? To you or Carly?" She gave her twin a serious look and Sam started to feel the sweat dripping down the back of her neck. She didn't really want to say, she didn't want to tell them all how Douglas really was. Though he never did anything major, not that Carly really ever saw, but that wasn't the first she'd seen that dangerous side of him. "Sam?"

"Y-Yes, he's shown _signs_ of being controlling. Carly never saw it, he mostly acted violent to me because I…I guess I had doubts…" Sam slowly clutched Choco and started rubbing the bunny's ears with her fingers. Freddie pressed his lips tightly together and Jonah cracked his neck to the side. How was it none of them saw through all of that before? "He's put his hands on me before, right here…" She pointed to her neck and grimaced at the memory plunging into her head. "He found someone that matched my standards. You know, no STDs and didn't have sex frequently, but I was too tired. I wouldn't perform for him…so he hit me a couple times and pushed me around the room. I still wouldn't perform and Carly was coming over, so he didn't do anything else."

"You never told anyone?"

"What was I supposed to do, Melanie? Tell mom and dad and just let all this happen earlier? Tell Carly and create an even bigger problem? I can't really do _anything_ about all that!"

"I know…" Melanie gave her a firm hug, letting her know she was there for her. As if Sam didn't feel betrayed enough by her as it was. "I'm sorry I've been so mean and thoughtless, Sam. I know my sister's still in there somewhere. Forgive me for being stupid?" Sam felt her heart skip a beat and she slowly moved her eyes up to Melanie's and saw how sincere she was, she couldn't believe the words that felt like music to her ears. All that pain, all the tears.

She needed her sister, so badly she did. Yes, she was the stronger one, at least that's what everyone believed and how she thought. Melanie was the one who was sweeter, needed people more and had more insecurities. Though, and especially at nightfall, it seemed just the opposite. There were times when Melanie was the strong one, when Sam _needed_ her. "You hurt me…" Sam lowered her voice to a soft whisper. "I know what I did messed things up, really hurt people and…" Her eyes started to water and Freddie thought for sure his heart was about to sink down. He _never_ saw this vulnerable side of Sam. Sure he was certain she had a vulnerable side, but he never thought he'd see it. "Now Uncle Carmine and Greg…"

"Sam…" Sam's heart clenched as she thought about her uncle and favorite cousin in prison, all because she had sex with their neighbor. She should have known better, but she couldn't help it. Sure the sex was addicting, when it was on her agenda, but that time it was Douglas that wanted to see it more. He thought it'd be kinky for her to have sex with her uncle's neighbor, and the guy was a shoe in to have an affair on his wife.

"He made me sleep with him…Douglas did. He said it'd be 'kinky' and that it wouldn't matter." Melanie frowned as Sam turned her head to the side and let out a deep sigh. "It's true what they say, you know…porn stars really are abused…But I don't even like being called that, though I am one. It's just…"

"It's the lifestyle that you're addicted to. Jonah and Valerie will help you."

"I know they will." Sam smiled lightly and wiped her eyes. She was trying hard not to think about having lost Melanie. "Y-You know…you said we weren't sisters. You hate me…"

"I don't hate you, Sam. I…I was just hurt…Don't you know how many people out there thought I was that girl on the internet who always had sex?" Melanie grabbed the wet rag on the end table, it had been brought out a while ago for Sam to have on her head while the police took care of Douglas. She brought the rag up and wiped Sam's eyes, then dabbed the rag along her jawline. "But now I know what you've gone through, I know what you've felt. You're my sister, and I love you." Sam pulled her head back slightly, not wanting to be wiped with the rag, but Melanie persisted and continued to wipe her face with the rag. Eventually, Sam gave in and let her clean her face up.

"You changed your whole look…you denied I was your sister and that you were associated with me…you even told me we were not sisters. How could you say all that?"

"I was going through a lot of pain, but I should have known how you felt…I should have known better." Sam's eyes welled up once more and she pushed the rag gently from her face.

"I keep Choco with me all the time because you gave her to me, and she watches over me." She sniffed and Melanie's face fell slightly. "We've always had each other's back until all of this. I-I never thought I'd _ever_ lose you."

"You haven't lost me…" Melanie closed her eyes and lowered the rag to her leg. Sam turned away from Melanie, hurt dripping from her eyes. She wanted to forgive Melanie for the hurt, she still loved her sister more than anything, but she didn't know exactly how she felt about her.

Melanie leaned back in the seat and moved her eyes to Freddie, he was quiet and had no ideas on what to say. As she sat there, silence clinging to the air, familiar words slowly drifted to her mind. Her lips curled up into a small smile as she recalled a song that she and Sam used to sing to each other when they were younger, a soothing song that reached the deepest regions of their souls.

She slowly moved her hand over to her sister's hand and squeezed it gently. Sam turned her head and met her eyes, breathing in softly. As Melanie opened her lips, out poured the very song close to her heart. _"When you're feeling down, feeling pushed around, and you just want to break down and cry…"_

Sam's heart pulsed as her eyes started to grow. The song was "Count on Me" by Sister 2 Sister. Usually, she sang it to Melanie whenever she was feeling bad, but it had been so long since either of them really heard that song.

_"When you can't be strong and you can't carry on, and it hurts no matter how hard you try. And it feels just like you're falling apart…" _Melanie lifted Choco up and gently placed her in Sam's arms. _"When you need someone to depend on, there's something that I want you to know."_

Melanie's eyes watered with Sam's as she held her hands and slowly stood up. She pulled Sam from the couch and continued to gaze into her eyes, raising her voice to match the song. _"You can count on me. Call and I'll be there! I'll be standing right there by your side…you will always be, in my thoughts and prayers…I'll wipe away the tears you cry…you can count on me."_ She nodded slowly and lifted her thumb, smoothing it over Sam's jawbone and clearing away the tears.

Sam took in a shattering breath and tried to pull away, but she couldn't. She couldn't pull away from her sister, no matter what, and she didn't want to. Valerie wiped her eye as Jonah sat next to her, smiling at the sight. Freddie simply leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over, he was more than happy to see two sisters bonding again. Though it might take a while, there was still no bond like that of a sibling.

_"So if your sky is grey, and you can't find your way, you're feeling like you just don't belong…you can rise above. Look and you'll find love, and the strength to keep holding on, even when it's breaking your heart and you need a friend to put your trust in, there's something that I want you to know…" _Melanie brushed Sam's hair behind her ear and smiled brightly through her tears, she could never hate her sister. No matter what Sam did, she just couldn't possibly hate her. She lowered her voice to a whisper and continued softly. "It's your turn…"

Sam's eyes widened and she closed her eyes. Her voice wavered and cracked as she continued with the chorus. Her broken, shattered heart would be healed, piece by piece. Maybe, just maybe, she could hope so. _"Y-You can count on me, call and I will be there…I'll be standing right there by your side, you will always be in my thoughts and my prayers. I'll wipe away your tears you cry…"_

The others in the room closed their eyes, singing along in their minds. It broke their heart when Sam began to sing, with so much pain filling her voice. Their voices meshed together as they sang the final verse, two sisters, one voice, and one heart.

_"When the world is just too much to bear-"_

_ "-Count on me. And when nobody seems to care-"_

_ "Count on me."_

_ "Look into my eyes and you will see, what you mean to me…"_ Sam's eyes drifted to Melanie's and she could see the love of a sister, the look that was always there. Melanie pulled Sam close into a sisterly hug and softly spoke into her sister's ear, the final line. "You can always count on me…"

Sam let out a whimpering sob as the warmth of her sister's hug began to sink into her. She buried her head into Melanie's shoulder and wept, her shoulders rising and falling with each sharp breath. Melanie closed her eyes and gently rubbed Sam's back. Her tears dripped past her chin. She held onto Sam for dear life, promising to never let her go.

"I'll always love you, you're my sister, and you always will be, no matter what. You look out for me and I look out for you, there is no greater bond than that, Sam. I'll be here for you, always. I know Valerie will be here for you too, but in case…in case you ever need your sister…just remember, your _sister_ is just a phone call away." Sam sniffed and let out a muffled agreement, nodding her head as she hugged Melanie tighter. Melanie didn't realize until just then, Sam had Choco right in between them. She kept her smile and sighed softly, that little bunny symbolized just that strong of a bond that was between them, it was inseparable.

"I love you Melanie. I never meant to hurt you, I promise. I don't know why I did what I did, and it scares me to think of what could happen to me. I don't want anything to happen to me…I just want my family."

"I know, you need to work on it. Mom and Dad will take you back when they see you can be trusted again…Your family will love you no matter what, but there's a lot you need to build back up, the trusts and the respects…"

"I know!" Sam sobbed once more and Melanie took another deep breath. She hated to see Sam cry, especially considering the fact that Sam almost never cried. Freddie almost felt uncomfortable just seeing her crying like this, but Jonah and Valerie remained without unease. It didn't get much closer than Melanie, but Valerie and Carly had always been the two closest, they knew things that Freddie and no one else _ever_ saw. Valerie did have tears, tears of joy for the twins. "I'm scared because…I still feel that desire…"

"That's what Valerie and Jonah are here for, to help you out of that where Mommy and Daddy couldn't. Mom just can't take it, and well…I need to get back home and try to keep her strong because Daddy's…he's started to drink again." Sam slowly nodded and hugged Melanie tight. She knew her father's drinking problem was really bad for him, he could eventually kill himself if he ever drank again. Fortunately he'd been sober most of their lives. "Just do your best not to mess up, but don't forget…we are sisters."

"I know, thank you Melanie. I'd be too lost…" She took a step back and wiped her eyes with her arm. Tears made her uncomfortable, but she couldn't help it lately. The recent events had just been too horrible for her. She looked at Freddie and cleared her throat, pointing dangerously at him. "If…If you ever speak to anyone about what you just saw tonight. I don't care that you're dating my sister, I will tear your throat out."

Freddie normally didn't react anymore to her idle threats, but this time, he felt as though he should. For old time's sake at least. Smirking a little, he grabbed his throat and his eyes widened. "Oh no! I'm so scared, I can't imagine life without my throat!" Melanie put her hand to her mouth and giggled as Sam slowly smiled, remembering the years of playful banter with Freddie. He smiled back at her and pat his hand on her shoulder. "Puckett, your secret's safe with me. Besides, you're more my sister now than you were before. After all, I am dating Melanie."

"So wait, that means you're considering yourself my brother?"

"Oh I don't _know_…" Freddie walked around the girls and tapped his chin lightly, holding his smirk as Sam closely watched him. "I do have a very protective brotherly feeling when it comes to you, I think we just saw that tonight. I'm dating your sister and love her more than anything in this world, so it's safe to say we'll go pretty far. I'm close to Mr. and Mrs. Puckett, hell I actually call them Dave and Pam sometimes! So, yeah, I guess that means I'm your brother."

"Oh no!" Sam smiled brightly and laughed as Freddie swung over and gave her a brotherly hug.

"Come here sis!" She yelped and started laughing as he lifted her from the ground. Her legs flailed in the air and Melanie giggled once again.

"Ah! Put me down, put me down! I can't take it anymore!" Sam's face was going red from laughter, for the first time in a long time she actually felt like she was having fun. So much so, she was afraid of peeing herself. "I have to go to the bathroom! Put me down! _Fred-die!"_ She kicked the air again and Freddie let out one final laugh before setting her on her feet.

"Okay, okay, all done." She took a deep breath and placed her hand over her chest, steadily trying to catch her breath and avoid fainting on the ground. Her eyes met Melanie's and they both smiled brightly at each other. It felt good to not be angry at each other again, like a piece of their heart had been placed back together.

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><p>And cue the "Aw", geez. Well this was a fun chapter to write, emotional yes. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will involve Sam waking up to go to church and meeting up with Jonah and Valerie's families. Then is a sermon chapter, long, but for those with religious preferences, you can either skim through it or skip all the way to the end, it's up to you. I'll remind you again there. We'll be seeing Carly later on, towards chapter 28<p> 


	23. Church

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 23 (Church)<p>

The next morning, Sam moaned as Valerie and Jonah woke her from her sleep. She opened her eyes to see Valerie next to her and Jonah leaning against the door. Jonah was dressed up in a red button down shirt with black slacks and black dress shoes. Valerie had a purple dress with a sewn floral pattern flowing down. She also had purple heels on her feet. Seeing them, Sam moaned and plopped her head back on her pillow. It was time for church, and she was too tired to go, but they weren't letting her get away with not going.

"Come on Sam, we have to get there early. Jonah's got to meet his father at Grace Church. Deacon duties. Plus I need to get there for my sisters." Sam blinked and chuckled nervously, of course she'd forgotten that both of their families went to the same church. How would they take the news that she was living with them? Not that they probably didn't already know. "They're all anxious to see you, and before you ask, yes they know about your life in the porn industry." Once more, Sam moaned as she flipped the pillow over her head. Jonah snickered and Valerie shot him a quick look, she just wanted to hurry up and get Sam dressed before they were late. "They don't mind you living here as long as you follow Jonah's rules and remain clean. Oh, and as long as you don't try to 'tempt' us."

"Like I'm going to do that…" Sam flipped the pillow off her face and looked up to Valerie. Their families had every right to be concerned about her living with them, but for now, it was the only thing that she could do. "How much time do I have to get ready?" Jonah checked his watch and looked back up with a small smile.

"About half an hour, don't take too long showering."

"Jonah, hush." Valerie shot him another look and he quickly quieted down, smiling brightly. They would be okay if they were a little late, he knew that, but Valerie always worried about getting there on time. Valerie took Sam by the wrist and pulled her into a seated position. "Now come on, we don't have all day, you know."

"I know, but a girl can dream, can't she?"

"Yes, you can dream."

"Okay good!" Sam plopped back onto the pillow and Valerie smacked her forehead. Jonah snickered once more as he watched his fiancé start to pull Sam back up. "Hey, you're the one that said it, Val."

"You want me to stop feeding you my snacks?" Sam gasped as she envisioned the tasty morsels popping out of sight.

"You wouldn't _dare!_"

"I would if you don't get up, now come on." Valerie was beginning to crack up, smiling and holding back her laughter as she struggled to wake her friend. Though at the mention of the possibility of losing the food, Sam immediately shot out of the bed and into the closet. The couple winced as they heard a thud. "Uh, are you all right?"

"Yep I'm fine…" She groaned and slowly stepped out of the closet, rubbing her head lightly. She forgot there was a shelf that was a bit lower than most closets. When she went into the closet and stood up, she banged her head into that shelf. "I don't think I have any church clothes, but I thought you guys said it wasn't formal."

"It isn't, but it shows respect to dress up. I'll give you one of my dresses if you want me to."

"Sure thing, Val. That'd be awesome. While you do that, I think I'm going to take a shower and wake up fully. Come get me if I don't get out in like…fifteen minutes." Valerie nodded and made her way from the room, Jonah followed after. Sam looked wistfully at her bed for a moment before slipping out of her room. She was a bit afraid to go to the church, afraid of being judged. Maybe she wouldn't be, she didn't know, but she had to take the chance. Besides, she wanted to prove to Jonah and Valerie that she was making a valiant effort to change her life, mostly Jonah, since Valerie actually believed in her more than he did.

She was ready in about twenty minutes, her dress was knee length and red with blue flower patterns. She also had red heels. She wasn't too sure she wanted to go with red, but it was the best looking dress that she saw. It also had enough blue in it to be workable. The drive to the church wasn't going to be too long, just about ten minutes away.

"So Sam, I want to ask…" Sam looked in the backseat of Jonah's truck, where Sam was seated behind her. She looked at Valerie with a smile and listened eagerly to her friend. "Do you have any money left over from the…you know, from what you had been doing?" Sam winced and shifted her eyes to the side. She didn't have much, she spent a lot of it and Douglas actually used a good chunk of it. Whatever was left was in some bank account of hers that she really didn't want anymore.

"Yeah, but that's blood money, Val. I…I don't want anything to do with that." Jonah turned his eyes briefly towards the rearview mirror, then back to the street. He was surprised to hear her say that, surely she could use some of it. "It's sin money, too, but I don't know what to do with it."

"Hm, good point…" Valerie turned around in her seat and started to think, what could possibly be a good use for that money? Then a thought occurred to her, something that could actually be done. "What about Mr. Jackson? You know, the neighbor…maybe you could give his widow the money to help her support herself and whatnot. After all, not to sound harsh, it was your lifestyle that triggered what happened to him…"

"I know…" She bowed her head and closed her hands up, feeling the pain rising in her heart again. She really wanted to do something about this damn guilt inside of her. Maybe Valerie was right, perhaps that would be a good thing to do. Maybe it would be closure, though would she accept it if Sam herself actually showed up? "Maybe anonymously would be better. If she saw me, I think she'd probably kick me away…"

Jonah turned his eyes back to the rearview mirror and his eyes rose, he'd definitely be impressed to see Sam actually give that blood money to the widow of that man. It would be a very good thing to do and he might actually be tempted to think she had a chance. He knew he wasn't too far from the neighborhood, it was just a five minute drive from the path. He also knew there was a bank somewhere nearby. "If we asked you to do it right now, what would you do?"

"Huh?" Sam perked up and sat erect. "I probably would give it away. I don't want that money, and I feel too guilty…I want to do something. I know it wouldn't make it better, not for her, but it was my actions…that lifestyle that caused my uncle to kill that man…" Jonah slowly nodded his head and eyed a Chase Bank sign approaching in the distance.

"You got your money all in a bank account?"

"Yes. About two to three thousand dollars of it is porn money." Jonah whistled and shook his head, how the hell did Sam manage to rack that up? He pointed to a bank and Valerie smiled lightly, knowing where this was leading. Sam caught the hint and quickly nodded. "If it isn't too far off the path…I would empty that account and hand the money over."

"Okay, let's see it." He drove into the bank's drive through and parked next to one of the telecoms. Sam closed her eyes and pulled her bank card from her purse as Jonah rolled her window down for her. She pressed the button and the bank teller came online.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" Sam reached forward and spoke without hesitation, no breaking in her speech at all.

"I want to withdraw all my money from my bank account and close it. Can you do that?"

"Yes, but are you sure?"

"Positive."

It was not long before the transaction was complete. Sam had her money and the teller had cut her bank card up. Jonah and Valerie smiled with pride as they drove onto the street that would lead into the neighborhood where Mr. Jackson once was. As they approached his home, Sam had scribbled a note down stating the money was a donation to support the grieving widow.

Sam swallowed hard as she held that money in her hands, staring at it with a blank expression. It literally appeared to be covered with blood, fluids that just wouldn't come off. She didn't want that money, she hated everything about it.

As they pulled up to the mailbox, Jonah and Valerie peeked around to Valerie, watching her put all of the money into the mailbox. They smiled with pride and started to drive off, stopping only when the widow left the house. She'd seen the car, but not who was in the car. She carefully made her way to the mailbox and Sam watched with eager anticipation as Jonah had parked alongside another street.

Sam's heart started to lift up as the woman's face slowly began to light. The woman looked up from the note and eyed her surroundings, trying to see if she could spot the donor anywhere, but she could not.

A feeling of peace washed over Sam as Jonah looked back at her, she couldn't believe that she had done something good for someone after such a long time of doing horrible things. It felt great, it felt great to be rid of that life. That money was a reminder to her, a symbol of something bad, that now became something good. One of the final attachments she had to that former lifestyle of hers.

Jonah pat her shoulder and he gave her a small smile. "Hey, we're proud of you, Sam." Sam beamed with joy as he turned back around and started to drive. Valerie smiled at her and closed her eyes, completely happy for what just took place. She knew this would make Jonah feel a bit more comfortable with Sam being around. If anything, he might believe she could change, just a little bit he might.

When they arrived to the church, they found Valerie's family waiting for them outside. Sam was astonished to see the large family. Valerie's older sister, Vanessa, who was 21, was standing behind her mother's wheelchair. She had a white dress on with a silver lace pattern at the bottom. She smiled as Valerie got out of the car. Next to her was Veronica, who was 17. She was wearing a black dress with a light trim at the bottom, it was a simple and plain dress. Next to her was Victoria, she was fifteen, she wore a red dress like Sam and was beaming with joy that her sister finally made it to church. Next to her was Vixen, the youngest at thirteen years, she was wearing a yellow dress with sunflower patterns swirling around on it. All but Vixen had brown hair. Vixen got her blonde hair from their dad, Victor. He was standing next to Viola and smiling happily at them.

Sam knew the history of Viola's accident, she'd been overseas in Iraq and was discharged when shrapnel entered into her body and disabled her ability to walk. It was hard and something Valerie really struggled with, but her family did their best to make it. Valerie ran up and hugged them. "I told you guys I wouldn't be late! Guess who we brought with us!"

"Yeah, we see her," Victor said with a small chuckle. He looked over to Sam and extended his hand, she graciously shook it. "It's great that you could join us all for church. The girls have choir, so Valerie will be up with them during the first half of the service. You're more than welcome to sit with us if you'd like." Sam smiled and gave a swift nod, she actually wondered if Jonah would be sitting with Valerie's family or with his dad. Chances were likely he'd be with his dad, due to the fact that he lived with Valerie, they both probably wanted time with their family.

"Brother!" A voice cried out for joy. Sam looked over to see a fourteen year old girl running up to Jonah with a bright smile on her face. Her soft brown hair, up in a ponytail, seemed to float in the air as she collided with him. He laughed and hugged his little sister tightly.

"Hey Olivia, I hope I didn't worry you and Dad any."

"Daddy's inside with the preacher, they're waiting on you, you know." Sam turned to them and smiled.

"Jonah's a deacon too, right?" Jonah shook his head and looked over with a soft smile. It wasn't _quite_ like that, as he wasn't married just yet.

"I'm more a deacon in training, my dad's a deacon. He was a deacon before mom passed away. When I do get married and it's been a little time, then I'll be able to be a deacon." Deacons and their families had it difficult, they had to abide by a tough standard and remain clean. So it wasn't just their families that needed Jonah and Valerie to wait for marriage, and not just themselves either, it was also the church. Olivia smiled and took Jonah's hand.

"Come on big brother, daddy's waiting! Today's service looks boring, though. It's about sexual immorality and all that stuff." Jonah's eyebrows rose and Valerie slowly looked to Sam, who was now freezing up. She heard that and wasn't too sure if she was all that thrilled about it. It didn't matter, though, she knew it was important to be there. She would listen, she wanted to listen. She wanted to be active in church as well, not just for the sake of being active with Valerie, but for her sake.

_"I want forgiveness anyway…I will listen…"_ Sam slowly closed her eyes and breathed out as Olivia and Jonah hurried inside the church. Valerie gave her a hug and followed her sisters inside. She grasped the handlebars of Viola's wheelchair and smiled at Victor. "Okay, so lead the way to the seats."

"All right then, follow me." She nodded and followed Victor into the church and towards the pews. They were to sit in the front rows, Viola was next to the pew and Victor was sitting on the end, holding her hand. They had their bibles out and were reading it. This was going to prove interesting, she could just feel it. Viola looked at her and smiled, watching her as she appeared a bit uncomfortable.

"Sam, dear…" Sam looked over and smiled warily.

"Yes?"

"Why are you nervous? Do you think we're going to judge you for what your lifestyle was?" Sam chuckled nervously and Viola slowly shook her head. "Jonah and Valerie explained that to us. We know it's hard to deal with, and they're going to be there for you every step of the way. We've known you for a long time, you've always been a great friend to Valerie, so I don't think any differently of you. Neither does Victor, or any of Valerie's sisters. Jonah's dad and sister are fine too. So relax, sweetie, you'll be fine."

Her words brought a smile to her lips and Sam nodded appreciatively, feeling a warm glow inside of her. "Thank you Mrs. Williams. That means a lot to me." Viola smiled at her and reached over, squeezing Sam's hand gently.

"Good. Would you like to read the scripture with us before church starts?"

"Sure." Sam moved a bit closer to them and looked at the bible in Victor's lap, she smiled as they started to explain the verses they were studying from last week.

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><p>So the parents aren't judgmental, which is good. The next chapter is going to be the longest, as it will be a sermon I found online. You can skim it, to gauge Sam's reactions to what the preacher says, you can skip to the end to see her talk briefly to the preacher, or you can just skip the chapter entirely and wait until the chapter after that, which will be entitled "Derek".<p> 


	24. Sexual Immorality

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: ALERT: This chapter is going to be the longest chapter, please bear with me. This will feature a sermon I found online at preaching(.)com/sermons/1154726. "Sexual Immorality: Beyond Body Parts & Nerve Endings" by John A Huffman Jr. The Senior Pastor of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. It studies 1 Corinthians. This is the first time I've used this much religion in a story, please bear with me. If you're Christian or if you're not, just please bear with me. Don't get mad if you're not, this isn't about believing or not, this is about the sexual immorality. I searched many sermons on the subject, and thus far, this one is the one I like the best. I will include Sam's reactions amid the sermon, so you kind of have to read it, but you don't _have_to read this chapter if you're like an atheist or agnostic and the bible turns you off. I'm not forcing anyone to read this chapter.

So again, if you want to skip the chapter, skip it. Skim it, then skim it, or flip to the end. I'm uploading 25 at the same time for this very reason.

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><p>Chapter 24 (Sexual Immorality)<p>

Sam watched as the pastor walked onto the stage, her muscles tensed as she eyed him closely. Her throat tightened and her eyes drifted towards the ground, she was just too nervous to be here. She wanted to talk to him after church, if she could. She wanted to know if she could be forgiven, if she could be saved. Viola and Victor said she would be, even Michael, Jonah's father, came over and talked to them. He too said if she changed her ways and repented, she'd not only have God's forgiveness, but likely the forgiveness of her family too. She'd never really been all that spiritual before, but she did believe in God. She had been so disconnected that she needed to talk to someone.

The preacher had tuffs of grey hair around his ears and a small comb-over on the top of his head. He had a long, but pleasant face with deep, piercing green eyes. He had a black business jacket that clung over his grey button up shirt, tucked ever so neatly into his black slacks. He was thin and somewhere in between forty to fifty years of age. The church wasn't so big, and evidently he was friendly with all the members there. To Sam, he had a calm demeanor which maybe meant he'd be easy to talk to.

Behind him, the choir filed stood where they had been standing for the prior fifteen minutes. The church had been singing the hymns, and now it was time for Pastor Zach Nichols to give his sermon. Sam was still just a tad nervous about this sermon, she was certain she'd feel something, and she didn't want to feel any pain.

"Good morning, it's so great to see everyone here, and so many new faces in the church." The pastor smiled cheerfully as he moved his head along the congregation. "Today, we'll be talking on 1 Corinthians, our sermon will be about a _very_ common issue that affects us all even today. That is, sexual immorality. Now before we start, I would like to release the choir and open with prayer."

Sam breathed in deep as the choir started to separate and leave to their seats. Valerie sat next to Sam and gave her a small smile to let her know that she was there. Sam smiled back, ignoring the heaviness in her chest, and looked down the pew to see Valerie's sisters all sitting down. She took another deep breath and looked over at the other end of the foyer. Jonah was sitting in between his father and Olivia, their bibles were neatly placed on their laps. Valerie and her family all had their notepads, ready to jot down the notes of today's sermon. She bowed her head with the rest of the congregation and listened to the pastor pray.

She was beginning to feel a tad out of place. She loved Christianity, but would she really be okay? She set her eyes on the preacher as he looked straight ahead, which made it appear as though he was looking directly at Sam. Could he see into her soul? She shivered lightly and hugged her arms. Did he know her? No, God did, and God was probably very upset with her. She had a little prayer with Viola, Victor, and Michael, earlier. They prayed that the day would go well, they prayed for others, and they prayed for her. When the prayer was over, she knew he was saying something else, but she was clearing her mind from clutter so she could actually listen.

The pastor lifted his hand up as the projector flashed a verse upon the screen. It was 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20. "Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself! Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. First Corinthians, chapter six, verses eighteen through twenty." The pastor placed his hands tightly on the podium and cleared his throat. Sam's eyes widened and her stomach flipped, what an opening to open with the verse. She read the passage on the screen and swallowed hard. She understood it, but she didn't really ever think about her body like that.

"Is there _anything_ in the world more fascinating and more powerful than the human sex drive? Pornography is a million-billion-dollar industry. I'm told that, in a world where there are so many things to talk about and learn, there are more internet sites devoted to sexual stimulation than _any_ other subject matter on earth." Sam's eyebrows rose in surprise as she thought on the statistics. There were millions of porn sites to sift through, that was factual. There were millions of women like her giving their body away for money. That could very well be true.

"Sexual attractiveness is so desired and admired that we use it to sell every product you can imagine. As a matter of fact, I can tell during my vacation in California, I opened up the L.A. Times, and this multi-page, high-gloss insert fell out that pictured this knock-down gorgeous brunette in all kinds of attractive poses, the one word theme "Gorgeous" running through this several-page spread. It was only when I got to the last page that I realized…this was an advertisement for Jaguar automobiles!"

Sam winced as a series of small, chuckles left the congregation. The pastor shook his head calmly and released a tired sigh. He was right, she figured that. Sex sells everything these days, it was a painful truth. "C.S. Lewis, many years ago in his book _Mere Christianity,_ described our contemporary struggle with human sexuality in the following words: The Christian idea of marriage is based on Christ's words that a man and wife are regarded as a single organism-for that is what the words 'one flesh' would be in modern English. And Christians believe that when He said this He was not expressing a sentiment, but stating a fact-just as one is stating a fact when one says that a lock and its key are one mechanism, or that a violin and bow are one musical instrument."

Sam nodded her head and pursed her lips in thought as she turned her eyes to Valerie, then to Jonah. A single organism? Two people, but yet, one body? Was that what he was saying? They were one. She'd heard that before, Jonah himself said it.

Pastor Zach pressed his fingertips together and walked to the right portion of the stage, eyeing his congregation once more. To Sam, she was beginning to feel as though he were simply talking to her and no one else. Somewhere deep inside, she understood that she _needed_ to listen to every word this man was about to say. "Now. The inventor of a human machine was telling us that it's two halves, the male and the female, were made to be combined together in pairs, _not__simply_ on the sexual level, but _totally combined_."

_"Totally combined? Like mom and dad? Jonah and Valerie? Valerie's parents?"_

"The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union, the sexual union, from all other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union." Sam's stomach grumbled at that as she imagined all that she had done, had she really been that bad off? She looked to Valerie, who was continuously jotting down notes. "The Christian attitude does not mean that there is anything _wrong_ about sexual pleasure, not any more than the pleasure of eating. It just means that you should not isolate that pleasure and try to get it by itself, any more than you ought to try and get the pleasures of taste without swallowing and digesting, but by chewing things and spitting them out again…"

_"Ew." _She cringed, imagining food that had been spit out. How was it the food tasted when that happened? It didn't taste as good, did it? She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh.

"No, Christianity is almost the only one of the good religions which thoroughly approves of the body-which believes that matter is good, and that God Himself once took on a human body, that some kind of body is going to be given to us even in Heaven and is going to be an essential part of our happiness, our beauty, and our energy. Christianity has glorified marriage more than any other religion: and nearly all the greatest love poetry in the world has been produced by Christians. If anyone says that sex, in itself, is bad, Christianity contradicts him at once."

So sex wasn't bad? It was just when you had sex outside, that it was? Sam watched the points flying on the screen the projector was facing. She bit her lip and waited as the preacher took a deep sigh and shook his head.

"You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act-that is, to watch a girl undress on stage. Now suppose you came to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let everyone see, ust before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? And would not anyone who has grown up in a different world think there was something equally strange about the state of the sex instinct among us?" Sam felt a shiver down her spine and turned her eyes to the side, she wasn't feeling too uncomfortable, just nervous, and maybe guilty as well. All she knew was she wanted that bacon. "You and I can't read a newspaper, open a magazine, turn on a TV or go to a movie _without_ being barraged with sex. We cannot avoid this topic, and fortunately God gives us the content for our conversation. God, through the inspiration of His Holy Spirit, addresses this issue time after time in His Word, all the way from Genesis to Revelation."

"He does it in a way that is primarily positive, if we take the time to hear what He is really telling us. The apostle Paul confronts the issue head-on, as he writes to a church made up of men and women living in a society every bit as sexually distorted as ours, if not more so. Three action principles leap out of the biblical passage."

Sam watched the words flash on the screen. _Action Principle #1: Face the reality of your own sexuality and your vulnerability to its distortion. _What did that mean? Her eyebrows furrowed and she leaned back in the chair, meeting the preacher's eyes for a split second.

"A lot of trouble comes when we repress our sexual feelings. They are there, all of us have them. Some of us let them run free rein, getting ourselves into trouble." Sam nodded with agreement as she recalled Carly's departure and even her own self being shunned by their families. It was painful, it hurt, and it was all because of these feelings. "Some of us deny we have these feelings, pushing them down underneath the surface, only to find that they pop up at strange moments when we least expect them."

Pastor Zach moved to the podium, moving his closed hand in the air as he continued onto his sermon. Sam eyed the congregation and saw everyone listening and watching, not a single person was silent. "Paul doesn't beat around the bush. He keeps bringing up this topic, because he knows both the positive and negative realities of our human sexuality. We are _all_ vulnerable. This fact has been driven home to me as I have observed several close friends in the ministry who have stumbled into sexual immorality, with the results being catastrophic for their personal and professional lives. Fortunately, the gospel is one of healing and restoration. In a couple of these situations, the marriages have survived and even been strengthened. But the pain and ongoing side effects continue to be felt, both within their nuclear families and the extended family, the Church of Jesus Christ."

So wait, he was saying the ramifications would be felt long afterwards? She couldn't imagine how much damage her mom and dad must feel, or how much pain her other relatives felt. Did her life really cause all this?

"Fortunately, I was raised in an environment that talked freely about one's sexual vulnerability. I made some early commitments as a teenager to live according to the biblical teachings. Although it was a struggle at points, I found the Holy Spirit was capable of empowerment. You and I must be aware of our own vulnerability. The posture of self-righteousness that looks down at others who have stumbled into sexual sin is the epitome of spiritual arrogance and, frankly, sets us up for a fall. I urge you to face the reality of your own sexuality and your own vulnerability to its distortion. It is important that we look at ourselves in the mirror and see ourselves as we are, created by God as sexual persons, healthy, vital, alive, but also engaged in a spiritual warfare in which that sexuality can quickly become distorted."

_Action Principle #2: Deal honestly with the biblical theology of your sexuality._

"Paul wrestles with this as he writes, 'All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by _anything_. 'Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.' First Corinthians six: verses Twelve through fourteen. This is saying that you and I are more than animals. We are not just made up of body parts and nerve endings. You and I have the freedom to do things, not just the way they come naturally, but the way you and I were created by God to do things. Far from being negative, the apostle Paul was a proponent of freedom in Jesus Christ. Throughout his missionary journeys as he established churches, he had to struggle with legalistic Judaizers who wanted to tie up the new believers in Christ into knots of Levitical laws. Paul was a proponent of freedom in Christ. He continually articulated what was the essence of the Old Testament teachings. His theme was that God had designed us to be fully human. We are more than animals. We have the privilege of living at a much higher level of existence."

"Now at the same time, Paul was very aware that this teaching of Christian freedom could be distorted, so he quotes a saying: 'All things are lawful for me.' Then adds a new dimension. He states '…But not all things are beneficial.' He then rearticulates the statement, 'All things are lawful for me.' But then he states, '…But I will not be dominated by anything." Sam pursed her lips once more as the preacher took a quick second to breathe in and lower his index finger from the air. "Did you catch the delicate balance of this? Freedom can be distorted into license. License can then be distorted into destruction of others and one's own self destruction. One of the greatest New Testament teachings on Christian freedom is Paul's letter to the church at Galatia. In it, Paul urges the believers to not again submit themselves to a yoke of slavery. He begs them not to step back into a religion defined by do's and don'ts, voidof a personal relationship with the Lord. He exhorts them to freedom, not to a freedom that is license. He writes, 'For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians five, thirteen through fifteen."

"Paul was doing business in a first-century world in which the Greeks looked down on the body. There was a proverbial saying, 'The body is a tomb.' Epictetus said, 'I am a poor soul, shackled to a corpse.' The important thing was the soul, the spirit of a person. The body didn't really matter to many of these Greeks."

"One expression of this was a Greek philosophy called _Gnosticism._ It espoused the didea of 'Dualism' between the body and the soul. The soul was recognized as good and of God. The body was considered bad and not of God. This produced two extreme attituteds. The first was 'asceticism' In which everything possible was done to subject or humiliate the desires and insticts of the body. If the body was bad, we should deny its appetites, bringing it under severe discipline. Anything that feels good must be bad. This was the attitude behind many of the monastic movements. It is a _distortion_ of biblical teaching. At the other extreme, there was the more popular reaction, which chose not to neglect the body but to indulge it. We would call this 'extreme sensuality.' This was the prevailing attitude in the city of Corinth. Since the body was of no importance, you could do with it what you liked. Sate and glut its appetites. If the soul is all that matters, what a person does with the body is of no significance. If they had bumper stickers on the chariots of those days, they'd probably read, 'if it feels good, do it!'"

Sam placed her hand to her chest and frowned, her body was important. Wasn't it? She acted like it wasn't, didn't she? She tossed it about, let people do whatever they desired with her. Her body was her own, yet it was not her own. She looked up with sad eyes at the preacher and he took a deep breath as he continued onward.

"You and I live in a similar society. Most of those around us have never heard of the Gnostics, but they treat sex as an appetite to be satisfied as casually as the need for food. It is met by having a snack. How many times has a person said to me, 'My sexual needs are just like all the rest of my appetites. If I get hungry, I go get a cheeseburger with all the works. And if I feel the need for sex and there is someone attractive to me who is willing, why not do it? What's wrong with that? If I'm out of town on business, what my wife doesn't know won't hurt her. After all, it's just an appetite.'" The man pressed his lips together and gripped his podium, shaking his head reputedly. Sam gasped softly at the mention of sex as an appetite. "This argument is nothing new, I tell you. Paul heard it addressed in a similar fashion. That's why he talks about _food_ being meant for the stomach and the stomach for food. Both food and the stomach will someday be _destroyed_. But the body is _not meant_ for sexual immorality! It is meant for the Lord and the Lord for the body! Even as Jesus was raised from the dead, so will you and I be raised from the dead. Ours is an eternal existence. We will have bodies in the life to come, even as we have bodies in this life. Paul emphasizes that our bodies in this life are members of Jesus Christ. You and I are _part of_ the Body of Christ. We are extensions of Christ in this world. Jesus is to be seen in us. God created us sexual beings, male and female, privileged in our incompleteness to find oneness in assuming responsibility for each other that goes beyond using each other sexually."

"What is the world going to see in the life of the believer if we practice sexual immorality, defacing the oneness that we are privileged to have in marriage?"

Sam shook her head, not knowing the answer to that question. She didn't want to deface such a sacred thing, she didn't want to be the cause of that disregard. "Paul quotes from Genesis, chapter two, verse twenty four: How male and female are to commit themselves together holistically in a way in which two shall become one, enjoying each other to the fullest while not ripping each other off." Zach leaned back, as if in thought, then turned his gaze back to the congregation. "When he refers to taking a prostitute, he's referring to any kind of sexual intercourse _outside_ of marriage."

Sam gasped and tears started to fill her eyes, she _wasn't_ a prostitute! That was what she kept saying. So, he was saying that this was truly the case? Her body tightened and she felt Valerie's soothing hand rest upon her arm.

"In Corinth, religious prostitution was the order of the day. Several thousand religious prostitutes worked in the Temple of Aphrodite overlooking the city. In the evenings, they would come down and ply their sexual trade in the name of the goddess. You can see how tempting this would be…"

"God is making a once and for all indictment against either of the extremes. You and I are _not_ called to asceticism, which denies the doctrine of creation. God has given you and me our appetites to be healthfully expressed. Some first-century Christians were so ascetic that they were denying the right of a husband and wife to have sex. It involved the concept of 'spiritual marriage,' so rarified that they would not dirty the relationship with sex. Can you imagine the pent-up frustrations that came in that kind of a relationship and how one or the other might rationalize their way into sex outside of marriage? Paul _repudiates_ asceticism, but he also repudiates that libertarian approach of the Epicureans that says anything goes, because the body is bad. He clearly states this in First Corinthians six, verses fifteen through seventeen: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not _know_ that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, 'The two shall be one flesh.' But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him."

Sam didn't like the idea of anyone uniting with a prostitute made them one body with her, that meant all the people she had sex with would have become one with her. She groaned lightly and felt Viola reach over and squeeze her hand gently, giving her a soft and reassuring smile.

"Then he adds this final dimension as he declares, '…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you…' Whereas in Old Testament times, God's presence was in the tabernacle and then the temple at Jerusalem, now God dwells inside each believer. You are His temple. 'Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body' First Corinthians six: nineteen through twenty. You were bought at the price of the blood of Christ, through Him you are His dwelling place. Do not defile your body, and in turn, defile His temple."

Sam lifted her hands to her heart once more and pressed her lips tightly together. She was a Christian, as was her family. She should have known this all her life, that she should not treat her body in such a foul manner, yet she had, and now it was eating her away. It was destroying her, destroying all those around her, and she wanted it to _stop! _She looked up with yearning as the third principle flew onto the screen.

_Action Principle #3: Sexual sin destroys. Flee from it!_ Sam's eyes bore onto that statement with a knowing grace. She would have to be stupid if she didn't see her entire world deteriorating around her. If she continued on that path of lust and sin, then her family would surely disown her entirely. She saw it coming, she knew it was there. She swallowed hard as the preacher once more appeared to look at her, speaking with every word pounding into her soul and memory.

"Paul writes in First Corinthians six: verse eighteen, 'Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself.' Sexual sin, by its very definition and reality, is _dehumanizing._ You become an animal, you declare yourself to be nothing but body parts and nerve endings. It destroys you and it destroys others.

Sam whimpered inwardly and imagined herself lying on a bed with someone hovered over her. In that moment, she had no soul, she had no thought, she just let him use her for his own desires. She wasn't her own self, and she wasn't pleasing God with that action either. She swallowed hard as she shook the image from her mind. The preacher put his hands together and chuckled slightly.

"So why would God be so strict? Is He an angry old grandfather somewhere up in the sky that wants to destroy our fun in life? No! Not for a moment! He created sex. He gave it to us as a positive, fulfilling activity. He wants it to be channeled for your very best interest. Far from His commands being negative and inhibiting, they are guides to the healthiest kind of sexual living possible. In fact, even if one is not a Christian and has no respect for biblical teaching, there are some good, common-sense reasons for avoiding premarital or extramarital intercourse. One reason to avoid premarital or extramarital intercourse is the possibility of _pregnancy."_

Sam placed her hand on her stomach and groaned, thankfully she wasn't pregnant and knew that, but she did agree with the preacher. That was one big reason not to have sex. She never really thought about it much, avoiding the thought at all costs because she always made sure the other person used protection. It still felt dirty, though.

"Yes, even with 'the pill,' the frequency of unwanted pregnancies continues to increase. What is more tragic than for a child to be brought into this world unwanted?" Sam frowned and tried to imagine how a child must feel to feel that they were not wanted, to think that they were the child of a porn star. It hit her then, that her children, if she ever had any, may worry about her choice of a lifestyle. "I have watched young couples, who once thought they were in love, struggle with the decision of whether or not to marry. There is no foolproof method of contraception. Many couples are not well enough informed. Some romantic feelings prevent necessary precautions. Although the pill is considered by most doctors to be foolproof, persons taking it are not. Either because of simple forgetfulness or some deep-seated inner motivation to conceive in order to hold on to that fellow, a woman who thinks she's safe may become pregnant."

"The second reason for avoiding premarital or extramarital intercourse is the danger of _disease_. Venereal disease has not been checked by modern medicine. The increased incidence of sexual promiscuity has brought about a tragic soaring incidence of this. Venereal disease is exponential in its increase, as society is less and less careful about sexual behavior. And we have not even mentioned to this point the topic of AIDS and the havoc of death that it is bringing throught the world, in both the homosexual and heterosexual communities. The fact is that AIDS, genital herpes, syphilis, hepatitis and pelvic inflammatory disease are tragic realities in our world. And if you want to read a tragic sotry of what venereal disease can do to a person, read William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill, in which he describes how Churchill's father, Lord Randolph Churchill, contracted syphilis through premarital sexual involvement. He describes how this promising British politician gradually eroded in the very public eye and, over a period of years, self-destructed and died."

Immediately, she thought of Carly, who had genital herpes. What other STD's might Carly have contracted? What might she possibly contract in the future? Sam checked herself often, getting herself tested frequently, and she never contracted an STD. Thankfully, she was trying to quit, and by quitting, she would no longer be at risk of an STD.

"You read a few stories like that from secular biographies, and they make you think that God's ways, far from being negative, are positive. Now a third reason to avoid premarital or extramarital intercourse is that many men are driven to _sexual conquests to prove their masculinity._ I pity the woman that gets trapped into this false situation." Sam's body twitched for a split second, remembering Douglas and how he treated her. He was a dangerous man, that was not a doubt at all. "If only the average young woman could listen in for a few moments to the conversation in a men's locker room, she would take much less seriously the romantic pleadings, 'If you really love me, you wouldn't say no.' And now the stereotypical view of men being more interested in sex than women is no longer the case. How often we read about women who, having no desire for a love relationship and marriage, are simply on the market looking for the ideal mate by whom they can become pregnant."

But she _wanted_ love someday, she _wanted _marriage. She wanted what Jonah and Valerie had, what Freddie and Melanie had, she wanted to feel these things. Now she was beginning to realize that the sexual life was preventing these things due to how often she went around. What guy would want to be with her then?

"The fourth reason for avoiding premarital and extramarital intercourse is that it can be _personally destructive, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually_. Premarital and extramarital sex is habit-forming. In most cases, it is not something a couple does once or twice and quits doing. It develops a personal interdependence wherein no real ultimate commitment has been agreed upon. It is an agonizing experience for a pastor to deal with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual fragmentation, which so often is the experience of the man or woman who then gets jilted. I would be the first to acknowledge that sometimes people seem to walk through a maze of various sexual relationships seemingly unhurt, settling down into marriage, having children and appearing to live happily ever after. But as a pastor, I more often see the casualties of a person who invested themselves in that other person, taking the relationship more seriously, believing that it had a future, and ends up in a deep depression, often spiraling into other addictive behaviors. Sex is so much more serious a matter than some of us would be willing to admit. It is the symbolic of commitment, even when that commitment is not really there."

"The fifth reason to avoid premarital or extramarital intercourse is that it is _not a reliable test of sexual compatibility._ Many a man has told me, 'I would never marry a woman without trying her out first.' He might just be surprised to find that there's a major difference between sex outside and inside a marriage. Secrecy surrounding premarital sex often heightens one's excitement. Needless to say, both will be on their very best behavior, knowing that their failure to perform could lead to the end of that relationship. How different is sex in marriage where both have the security of ultimate commitment. Sex is not geared to one's having to meet a particular standard. It is meant to share in the most intimate way possible a way which will procreate and also bring personal fulfillment. A normal healthy man and a normal healthy woman, from both a psychological and physiological standpoint, should be able to find sexual compatibility. Premarital experimentation will not necessarily assure it. In fact, it is more likely to injure or at least detract from ultimate sexual compatibility."

Now Sam was beginning to feel tired, but she fought to remain awake for this man's sermon. She was increasingly interested. What was he saying now? Her life in porn might seriously derail the attraction of the right person? Was that it?

"A sixth reason to avoid premarital or extramarital intercourse is that it often creates an _obsessive interest in sex_." Sam chuckled at that, she definitely didn't have to question the statement, it was more than just true. It, sadly, had become her and it had become Carly. "I've talked with couples who have slipped into this relationship before marriage to find that sex is about all they think about. Whereas they used to have fun dating and being with other people, their life is now geared toward sex. This is no way to live. A happily married couple spends a very small fraction of their time having sex compared to all the other activities that fill their lives. Obsessive interest in sex is _abnormal."_

Again, how nice to know that Jonah and Valerie were happy together and they never had sex. Sam looked from Valerie to Jonah and smiled, they were just fine sitting with their respective families in separate pews. Jonah had no problem spending time with his friends, neither did Valerie, and the two were very much in love. Sex really wasn't all that made a relationship, then.

"And now, a seventh reason to avoid premarital or extramarital sex is that it can have a _marring and spoiling effect on later marriage_." Sam's eyebrows lifted up as the pastor cleared his throat and eyed his congregation closely. "What I mean by this is that it can breed a later misunderstanding between two people who were weak before marriage, giving in to their impulses. There is always uncertainty. You know that your partner could once again be weak and move onto an extramarital affair."

Did she have to worry about her future husband ever thinking that? If it were now, then yes. She frowned and moved her eyes downward. It made sense that a husband would be very self-conscious of her and mistrusting, she wouldn't even argue that point.

"There is always the potential of resentment going into marriage. I have talked with individuals who idealize waiting until marriage, but once pressured the other into premarital sex. Granted, they had agreed to it, but they carry with them a resentment which can subtly color their future relationship. This is why, in my premarital counseling, I urge couples to honestly face up to the relationship they have, laying aside any rationalizations which they manufacture. They can honestly discuss their disobedience to God and claim His forgiveness. It is possible for them to have a period of celibacy before their marriage. They can go into their marriage with a much greater sense of integrity and honesty than would otherwise be present. Now there are many other common-sense reasons for avoiding premarital and extramarital intercourse, but we don't have time to go into all of them now. Simply stated, it is impossible to achieve in a premarital or extramarital relationship a spiritual, emotional, psychological and mental bonding, a oneness of the ultimate commitment, which is possible in Christian marriage. The potential for heartbreak and shattered dreams is enormous! To put it bluntly, it's smart to wait until marriage. It's also smart to remain faithful inside of marriage. God's way is not designed to spoil your fun. God's way is the smart, the intelligent way."

"Yes, sexual sin destroys. Claim the help of the Holy Spirit to flee from it, to shun it. You can't play with fire without being burned. It is difficult to go right up to the line without stepping over it. Those lingering lunches with someone other than your husband or your wife can begin to set a chain of events into motion for destruction. Pray about how you act, how you dress, the signals you send and the signals you receive. Dedicate yourself to God in a way in which you claim His wisdom and sensitivity to what would hurt another and hurt yourself. Two Old Testament biographies come to mind. One was a man who played with his sexuality and that of others like a cat plays with catnip. His name was Sampson. Read his biography-such as a gifted man with so much potential. What he didn't do was flee, shun immorality. Look at the price he paid."

He lost all his strength, Delilah chopped off his hair and destroyed so much. Sam knew that story well, she had been an avid reader of the scripture when she was younger. She wasn't sure when or why she separated from it all, but maybe being with Valerie could help.

"Another was Joseph. Alienated from his own family, a slave in a foreign country, he stayed close to God. He knew the standard God set sexually. When his employer Potiphar was out of town on business, Potiphar's wife made her move. On previous occasions, she had flirted with Joseph. This time, she attempted an all-out seduction. What did Joseph do? He literally fled from her presence, ran away from her. No one gave him the 'Moral Man of the Year Award' in Egypt. In fact, he went to prison, accused by her of rape. So angered was this rejected woman that she fabricated a story. But God honored Joseph's faithfulness. What's the intention of this message? It's twofold."

The pastor lifted up two fingers and stood straight, Sam knew the sermon was coming to a close. She eyed that preacher and knew she wanted to talk to him after church. Hopefully Jonah and Valerie would be okay with that. "One, it is to faithfully portray God's view of what He created you to be as a sexual human being in a way that does not push you toward asceticism on the one extreme or sexual anarchy at the other extreme. It is to challenge you to claim the help of the Holy Spirit to keep yourself faithful to Jesus Christ and, in the process, be faithful to yourself and others, urging you to flee fornication, remembering that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Two, it is to minister a word of God's grace if you have cut corners. God is in the business of welcoming you home if you're willing to repent." Here is where his eyes met hers and locked, perhaps it was not intentional, he was not speaking directly to her, but in her mind, he was. "To you, God offers His good news of forgiveness. He accepts you as you are. He gives you a clean slate. You may bear the scars on your memory of actions and thoughts that countered His will. Yet He is willing and He years to transform you into a right relationship with Him. He promises to remove your sins as far as the east is from the west and give you a rand new meaning. He wants to lift you out of that grocery list of brokenness, which paul gives in First Corinthians six, verses nine through eleven, when he writes, "Do you not know that wrong dowers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers-none of them will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justifiable in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

As Pastor Zach stepped down the stairs of the stage, the piano began to play. Valerie and her sisters slowly stood up with the rest of the choir members and began to slowly leave the pews, slowly walking towards their designated area. "If any of you are in need of help, if you would like to know more about the grace of God, or if any of you need to know more about today's sermon. Whatever it is that weighs on your mind, please don't hesitate to come up here."

Sam felt a yearning inside of her as the congregation stood and began to sing one of the last songs on the list. She eyed the preacher closely and swallowed hard, her palms began to sweat as she gripped the pew in front of her. Viola and Victor looked at her with a smile, they could see the trouble upon her mind. "You can go up there if you like," Viola said calmly. Sam quickly looked at her, her eyes large and slightly misty.

"I won't be judged?"

"Not by him, not by anyone here. Only God knows your heart, and only He can judge anyone. Go on…" Sam looked back to the preacher, he was standing strong with his hands behind his back. She felt a sudden strength in her legs, allowing her to bravely step forward. When her eyes met with the pastor's, he smiled at her and let her walk to him. He placed her hand on her back in a friendly huddle and whispered with her.

"How can I help you?"

"I want to say…your sermon…thank you for it." Sam's voice was shaky, on the verge of tears. She understood that sermon, she knew well what he was saying. "I want…I want to one day have that marriage that is sacred. I-I know the things I did were horrible, and I want to know…will God really forgive me?"

"Without a doubt. If you feel it in your heart, that sorrow, then he will definitely forgive the sins that you've done." Sam smiled through her tears and felt her body tremble. Valerie watched her from where she was at, smiling proudly at her friend. It took a lot of courage for her to go up there. "I'm glad you decided to come with the Williams."

"I wanted to. Sure I was tired, but I really wanted to be here. Now, I'm glad I came. It's just…it's hard for me, that life is an addiction." She didn't have to bother saying what she was talking about, he probably knew who she was by now. Everyone did. By now she was 'that girl on iCarly who became a porn star.' "I want to quit, but I'm scared."

"If you'll come by my office after the service, I'll recommend you a few resources that will help. One of our very prominent members here is a therapist, and I have a few contacts for various addictions that I can give you."

"I'm looking for the…the SA…"

"I'll find that. May I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"Would you like for me to pray with you right now?" Sam nodded her head, her tears dripping down her cheeks. Zach gave her a brief smile as the two bowed their heads in prayer. As they prayed and as Sam asked for forgiveness of her sins, she did feel a sense of peace washing onto her.

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><p>Sorry it's so long, it was an actual sermon. Consider it a filler. Go to the next chapter.<p> 


	25. Derek

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 25 (Derek)<p>

Sam sat on the couch cushion in front of the fireplace, on either side of her was her grandmother and great grandfather, Chuck. Melanie and Freddie had called them to let her know where she was and that they should go see her before taking off. It was now Monday morning, Valerie was in her room studying and Jonah was out somewhere with Freddie and Derek. She still hadn't met Derek, she kind of wanted to, but didn't want to be judged. Lately, it seemed like everyone judged her.

She hoped Douglas would feel like staying away from her now, he had a restraining order against him since he was only in jail for the weekend. He was to be released today. Sam had her arms around Chuck in a hug, not wanting to let him go and hanging on for dear life. He was hugging her back while Juniper smiled and rubbed her back. "This path your taking now, with Jonah and Valerie here with you, it is the right path." Sam looked up to Chuck and nodded, agreeing with his statement. "What you had been involved in, it's just not you."

"It got addicting, started taking over my life. I feel hopeless." Not to mention worthless, exhausted, and most likely under house arrest. She chuckled at the thought that came to her mind and sighed. "Jonah's got me under house arrest Grandpa Chuck." He laughed once while Juniper leaned back in her seat.

"Sam, you know your mother, father, all of them…they'll take you back in if you can show them that you can be a respectable young woman." Sam looked over to Juniper and smiled slightly. How she craved that feeling, the feeling of her family accepting her back. Of her proving to not only them, but to herself, that she _could_ change, that she _could_ be respectable. Juniper moved her eyes to the chocolate brown bunny next to Sam's legs and smiled slightly, touching its head with her fingers. "This bunny may be what represents what _we _see in you. Not the girl who puts herself online for the world to see herself."

"Yeah…" Sam hugged herself and a shiver slowly ran down her spine. The more she thought about that life, the more it frightened her to think that she'd really ever been involved. "Now I just can't seem to get away from it. It's a drug…"

"It is, but if you're strong, you can free yourself from that drug. We believe in you. Don't let Erica get the best of you, she really was nicer years ago." Juniper hugged Sam closely. Sam closed her eyes and smiled happily, turning her head towards Chuck.

"Do you think…Do you think any guy out there might want to be with me? I remember…when Melanie and I were younger, we used to always talk about having future husbands and kids that grew up together, and…it feels like that dream would be so far away. So out of reach, and all because of what I did…" Chuck pat her right shoulder and gave her a kindred, reassuring smile.

"Any man that is the right person will not care about the mistakes you have made along the way, they'll love you despite your faults." Any man like that sounded too good to be possible, but after seeing how Jonah and Freddie act, maybe there was a man like that somewhere. "You have to let them come to you, believe me, love finds us in strange times."

"You think I'll ever find love, I mean really, grandpa?"

"One day, dear. Just be true to who you are." Sam's smile brightened as the elders stood from the couch. She stood with them and hugged them both. They had to leave and get back home, but they were very happy about having spent the last couple of hours with Sam. Chuck hugged her one last time. "Everything will work out, Samantha, I promise you."

"Yeah, if by some miracle my family stops hating me and Aunt Erica stops being a stick in the mud, then I'll be happy." Chuck grinned and Juniper laughed. Juniper gave her granddaughter one last hug, then pushed her purse strap onto her shoulder.

"Well, you let your relatives deal with Erica. You just need to work on yourself." Sam met her grandmother's eyes and firmly nodded as Chuck walked around to his daughter. "Just remember that your family _does_ love you, Samantha. We all want to see you a part of us…" Sam's lips fell flat as her grandmother gingerly placed her fingers under her chin and smiled into her eyes. "You're a beautiful young woman who's gone onto a troublesome path, for various reasons, that path forces you away from your family and those you love. Everyone's waiting for that sweet little girl inside of you to come back out." Sam's skin warmed as she watched her grandmother slowly lift Choco from the couch and place her into Sam's arm. Sam closed her arm around her body, holding Choco in place. Juniper smiled and rubbed her chin, tilting her head lightly. "There, that's who you are right there. She's in there, she just needs to be the one that shows. No more of this lust filled life, that's just not you, sweetie."

"I'm sorry, Grandma…" Sam's eyes started to glaze over and she quickly shook her head in an attempt to prevent her tears from showing. She lifted her hand up and groaned as she rubbed her left eye. "I messed up, I'm not that respectable girl anymore, and that's why my family kicked me out…"

"So what do you do when you lose something?" Sam pursed her lips and lifted her eyebrows up in question. Whenever someone lost something, didn't they at least try to find it? Juniper closed her eyes and folded her arms over. "If it's lost, try to find it. If it was taken from you, take it back. Your father says you lost the family's respect, Erica says you've dishonored the family name, etcetera, etcetera. Well, take back the respect. When you do that, when you can quit that lifestyle of yours that so seems to clash with that beautiful granddaughter of mine that I _know_ is there, then and only then, will your family take you back."

"So how do I win their trust back, Grandma? How do I make everyone love me again?"

Juniper glanced over at her father and sighed, it was time for his medication and meal, so they were really running behind. She smiled warily and looked back to her granddaughter. "You'll figure something out, I know you will. You're a strong woman, you won't let this weigh you down. You'll overcome."

"The Puckett clan's known for that ability, Samantha." Chuck grinned and rubbed Sam's head. Sam closed her eyes and let out a small laugh as she reached up to try and straighten her hair. She looked up at him as he withdrew his hand and held his smile.

"Will you be in town much longer, Grandpa?"

"I have a couple weeks. You've got my number, you can always call me and I'll answer."

"Okay. I love you, Grandpa." She hugged his waist tightly and closed her eyes. She didn't really want him to go, she knew he was one of the last few people shooting for her. It tore her apart that his body was shutting down on him, she couldn't possibly understand why he had to die.

"We love you too. Now we have to go to the house and get my meds, try to make the best out of today, and every day. Don't get discouraged, okay? Try to remember that while you're hurting, your family is too, but one day all of these wounds _will _heal."

"Thank you Grandpa, and I will remember that." She took a step back and ran her arm across her eyes. She watched with a fleeting gaze as her grandparents left the house. Once more, she was alone in the living room. She rubbed her arm and slowly turned towards the kitchen.

She started moving into the room and turned her attention to the basement door, she wondered if Jonah would mind if she tried some of those weights. How much could she bench? The curiosity was overwhelming. She smiled to herself as she gripped the golden doorknob and opened it. The light lit the dark steps enough for her to walk down them and flip on the light switch.

As she rounded the stairs, she took note of the oaky scent in the basement, Valerie must have cleaned it up. She and Jonah cleaned the basement after every use, specifically because working out left a slightly musky smell. She walked over to the dark iron barbell and moved her eyes to the triangular weight stand. It held weights at 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 25 pounds, 50 pounds, 75 pounds, and 100 pounds. She knew she couldn't lift the highest amount and she wasn't about to try, at least not without a spotter.

Her eyes moved to the far end of the wall and she tilted her head, smiling softly. There were metal dumbbells ranging from 5 to 100 pounds. Could Jonah do the 100 pound on each hand? Probably not, surely you'd have to be a superhuman to do that. She was certain of that. Though she would enjoy seeing someone do curls with that amount.

When she was a junior in high school, she knew a typical barbell like the one Jonah had weighed about forty five pounds. Back then, she had been able to put a total of twenty pounds onto the barbell and bring it up to sixty five pounds. Maybe she was strong enough to do more than that, but she wasn't completely positive, she'd have to start lower.

She grabbed two five pound disks and placed them onto the sides of the barbell. She took a step back and grimaced at how small the disks on the bar looked, it appeared so puny. She'd probably met people who could do ten times that amount. Hell, Douglas was a big guy who could probably bench at least a hundred. She stretched her arms out and moved them in a circular motion, then laid back onto the bench.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Valerie's voice shocked her and she quickly sat up, nearly hitting her head on the bar. She looked to Valerie and chuckled nervously as the girl lifted her eyebrows up.

"Am I not supposed to be down here?"

"No, you're fine, I was just wondering what you were doing…" Valerie walked up to her and stared at the bar with intrigue. "So, sixty-five pounds?"

"Yeah, how much can you do? Hm?" Sam stuck her tongue out, feeling that she could out bench Valerie. Valerie ran her left hand along the coarse part of the bar and smirked knowingly at her friend. "I don't like to brag, but eighty five. I don't work out nearly as much as the guys do."

"Eighty…" Sam's jaw fell and she quickly shook it off, she wasn't positive that she ever reached that amount. Then again, there was one time she tried ninety and struggled with it.

"Yeah, so let's see you do this, it should be easy for you." Sam nodded and laid back on the bench as Valerie stepped behind the bar. Sam clenched her jaw tight as she curled her fingers on the cold steel. After what happened with Douglas, and all of the guys that had used her, she wanted to get stronger. She wasn't going to let that happen again. "Okay, let's see how you do on the first set. Remember four sets, eight to ten reps on each. I think that's how the guys do it, they could do something entirely different though."

"Yeah, let's see…" Sam took a heavy breath and let out a grunt as she lifted the bar off of what was holding it and slowly brought it to her chest. It didn't feel very heavy at all, despite putting some pressure on her arms. She pushed the bar into the air with ease and hummed to herself. "It's too light. I mean, there's some pressure, but for the most part, it's too easy to lift."

"Then we should add some more weight." Sam nodded and set the bar back on the holders. She sat up and watched Valerie take the weight disks off.

"You know Val, I was thinking about something. I think we should make a webshow type thing, only, it's with cooking and stuff." Valerie raised her eyebrows and set the weight disks on their appropriate holders. She wasn't too sure how she felt about any kind of webshow, not after what had happened the first time. After that tryst, she never looked back.

"I don't know, I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel about that. Besides, food tips…that's what the food channel's for, and Rachael Ray."

"She's your idol, right? Imagine what would happen if you started up a webshow like that and could actually get _her _onto your webshow!" Valerie's eyes brightened for a split second, then she quickly shook off the thought. If she actually could meet Rachael Ray in person, it would be a dream come true. There was no way in hell it could happen, though. Not for someone like her, she just wasn't worthy enough for Rachael to care about.

"I-I'd love that, actually, but it wouldn't happen." Sam's eyebrow arched up and she gave a chuckle. "Now tell me what weight you want to try." She crossed her arms over and moved her eyes to Sam's, meeting them. "How would we even find someone to shoot that stuff. Not only that, but you have to think about the reactions people would have if you were on a webshow. Nobody would focus on the food."

"Let's try twenty on each." Valerie raised her eyebrow as Sam flipped off the bench and grabbed the weights. She wasn't too sure that Sam should do so much, but the girl already had it in her mind to lift the amount. "I say we have Freddie, who _might_ shoot the webshow for us…"

"You mean the same Freddie who left iCarly because the colleges and so forth wouldn't let him enter if it was known that he was associated with you and Carly?" Sam's heart clenched as she remembered that fact, she had forgotten it before. There was no way Freddie would shoot another webshow that involved her, maybe he wouldn't mind, but that was only if it didn't actually affect his future in some way.

"Oh yeah…I forgot…" Valerie smiled softly and watched as Sam positioned herself beneath the bar and started to push it up. Valerie looked away momentarily, as something had caught her attention. Sam's arms practically fell to her chest and she struggled to push the bar up, but it was way too heavy for her. She sucked in some air and cried out as her arms started feeling as if they would fall off. Her face turned red and she clenched her eyes shut. "Help!"

"I got it." Sam's eyes shot open at the sound of a deep, masculine voice. Suddenly the bar was lifted off of her. She stared above and saw a man about her age. He had a handsomely chiseled face with slight dimples at the corners of his lips. His mouth was framed by a brown, fuzzy goatee which covered his chin. His eyes were deep, piercing blue eyes, which had his brown bangs slightly covering them. His hair rivaled that of Leonardo DiCaprio. Her breathing ceased and her heart began pounding heavily in her chest as she slowly eyed this man.

He seemed to have a medium muscular tone with olive tanned skin, his muscles were showing from the brown, short sleeved t-shirt he wore. Sam's throat clouded up as her speech was taken from her. Her eyes drifted down to see a pair of blue jeans covering up his muscular legs. She smiled nervously as her face started to go red. "T-Thanks. Guess I can't bench that much…yet…"

"Oh, is that what you were trying to do? Usually you need to start with a small weight, and work your way up to a weight that you can do. Don't start to overboard..." He smirked and brought the bar to rest on its holder. Sam slowly sat up and groaned as she turned her eyes towards Valerie. Valerie was standing next to the weights and smiling at her, Jonah was next to her and Freddie was leaning up against a wall. Freddie appeared to be snickering at the sight, which made Sam want to hit him, but she was too nervous now. Who was this guy? Surely he couldn't be _Derek_, not someone that handsome. Valerie helped Sam to her feet and brushed her shirt off.

"Are you okay, Sam?"

"Valerie! Come with me!" Valerie's eyes widened as Sam grabbed her wrist and started pulling her up the stairs. The boys watched with amusement as Sam and Valerie shut the basement door and moved out into the main part of the kitchen. Sam quickly took Valerie's hands and looked widely into her eyes. "_Who_ is _that_ guy?"

"Oh, him? That's Derek, he's an Airman First Class. Been in the Air Force since he was eighteen, he's twenty now." Sam's eyes widened and her reddened face would not leave. It wasn't hard to tell she was attracted to this guy.

"Freddie and Jonah hid a guy like _that_ from me?" Valerie laughed and made her way to the refrigerator. Now that the guys were home, she was going to get started on preparing lunch. She needed to know if Freddie and Derek were going to stay over for lunch or not, they probably were, considering they were all downstairs. This was their time to work out.

"If you're wanting to work out with the guys, I'm sure they'll let you. They have a pretty good workout schedule that they follow. It's important for them to keep up their strength for the military."

"Freddie's going into the military?" Sam walked over to the fridge as Valerie pulled some lunchmeat out. She usually made simple lunches for the boys, rather than making anything extensive. She shook her head and pointed towards the cabinet. "Can you grab some bread from there, please?" Sam nodded and did as asked, taking the bread from the upper cabinets and setting them on the counter. "Freddie and Melanie didn't tell you? Freddie wants to go into law enforcement, so he's making sure to stay in shape too." Valerie looked at the bread loaf and pressed her lips together. "I forgot, they usually have half a sub sandwich. Put that loaf back in, I'm going to get the subs from the pantry."

"Okay…" Sam returned the bread back to the cabinets and looked over as Valerie grabbed the subs from the pantry, then went over to the spice cabinet and began pulling the spices apart. "So what do they usually have for lunch?"

"You know Subway, right?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Well, I was given permission from our favorite subway to study their recipes and make sandwiches based off of theirs for the men. Jonah prefers the Roast Beef from subway, with a lot of black olives and sweet onion sauce." Sam nodded and pulled a jar of black olives from the fridge. She looked over to see Valerie open up a drawer and pull out some sweet onion sauce. "Then Freddie prefers the Black Forest Ham, black olives, banana peppers, and zesty ranch." Sam lifted her eyebrows up and returned her attention to the fridge, spotted the banana peppers in the side door, then pulled them out.

"What does Derek like?"

"You're real interested in knowing his choice, aren't you." She smirked and Sam's face flushed as she quickly began defending herself.

"No, it's just interest!" Valerie chuckled as she sliced one of the wheat loaves in half, then grabbed a third loaf.

"He's more into the spicy Italian, with light black olives, plenty banana peppers, hot sauce, which I have up here, and a few jalapenos…top shelf in the door, by the way." Sam nodded and grabbed a small jar of jalapenos, then made her way to the counter, setting the three jars down for Valerie as the girl sliced the third loaf in half. "Now, let me show you how to make these things…"

"Okay. I enjoy helping you prepare the foods." Valerie gave her friend a smile and opened up one of the loaves. These would be simple to prepare. She turned her eyes to Sam and pointed towards the drawer just left of Sam. "There's a notepad and pen in there, grab it and take some notes. You can study and next time it comes time to make lunch, you can make Derek's favorite sandwich for him." Sam blushed and narrowed her eyes as Valerie smirked at her.

"One of these days Valerie, I'm going to get you back for teasing me. I hope you know that." Valerie laughed while Sam pulled the notepad from the drawer. Sure she might develop a crush on people, but she didn't think anything would ever come from any of that stuff. "Not like the guy would date me anyway…"

"Ah don't say that. He doesn't have a girlfriend, so you never know."

"Two words, Val. Well, three…" Sam lifted up three fingers and Valerie released a heavy sigh. "Former porn star."

"Well just put that past out of your mind then." Sam felt her heart sink as she moved her eyes to all the lunchmeat, tomatoes, lettuce, and other important ingredients

"Easier said than done…but let's get these sandwiches prepared."

"Okay." Sam spent the next few minutes listening to Valerie and writing down step by step notes on how to prepare the three subs, she was eager to listen to her and thought she made a great teacher. Her voice was soft and upbeat, which definitely helped gain people's interest and attention. She was also perky and a bit upbeat, much like her favorite food idol. She may not have seen it in herself like Sam did, but Sam honestly believed she'd be _great_ for a webshow offering tips on how to make food. Sure there were others, but Valerie just had a certain touch to hers that might put others to shame.

When they were done, Valerie had called the boys up for their sandwiches and inspected the work. She beamed with pride at the three sandwiches and gave Sam a hug. "Good job, thanks for your help. These babies are _beautiful_ and ready to eat." Valerie lifted her finger up and closed her eyes. "My personal set of rules that I made up for myself, we have rule number one: I will not serve my man anything if it's not perfect." Sam chuckled and eyed the sandwiches hungrily, she was almost certain the boys would enjoy these. They looked better than anything she'd seen elsewhere.

"Good rule, but I bet he'd eat anything you made whether it was good or not."

"Yeah he would, but I just don't like serving it if it's not great quality food." Sam agreed and looked at the door as the three men piled out of the basement and thanked the girls for the sandwiches, picking up the food and making their way to the table. The girls joined them happily at the table.

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><p>Now we meet the hunk that is friend to Freddie and Jonah, he will also be crucial to the thing that might help her win her family's respect and honor back. You'll just have to see. Hey, there's going to be a lot of drama coming up, mostly regarding Carly, so it's not going to be all insecurity. Just you wait, we're going to delve deep into the past, gang activity, and prostitution. It's going to be interesting.<p> 


	26. Counseling

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 26 (Counseling)<p>

"I hope it's okay that I'm taking you here," Derek said as he drove his silver Porsche towards Sam's first counseling session with one of the church members that Pastor Zach referred her to. Jonah had to go to school and a sudden emergency at the bakery meant Valerie had to go and help her boss take care of it. With no way to get to her counselor, they had Derek take her. Sam had her hands on her legs and was staring down at her feet. Derek looked from her, then back to the street. "Don't be so nervous, I'm sure it'll go well."

"Not what I'm nervous about…" Sam mumbled under her breath and shifted her eyes to the small brown animal next to her right leg. She didn't normally take it everywhere, but right now, it was one of the only security blankets she had. She felt rather childish about it, but she was too nervous to _not_ use it. Maybe in time, she'd stop carrying it around with her. "Surprised they didn't volunteer Freddie to take me, but he's probably got to get back to Melanie."

"Yeah, he talks about her all the time, you know." He laughed and took a right turn. Sam closed her eyes and took in that rich, deep laugh. It was almost melodious. "Do you want me to wait for you while you talk to the counselor?" Sam eyed the clear window and gazed at the brown shingled home that he was parking in front of. She didn't think he needed to wait around, but considering this street was just parallel with the street that Douglas actually lived on, she really didn't feel like being alone. By the time the session was over, it would be dark, and with Douglas on his usual daily walks, he'd be prowling the neighborhood. She turned her eyes to Derek and scanned his muscular arms. If he was strong, as he appeared so, then he'd be able to keep her safe if Douglas _did_ see her.

"So, you're in the air force too, what career are you going into?" Derek turned towards her and rested his elbow on the chair.

"I'm going into the air traffic control, it's logistics. Right now, it's the best I can do as an enlisted. I'm also going to college, with enough college, I can become an officer like my brother, he's a Second Lieutenant. I wouldn't mind getting Jonah to join now, but he'd rather wait till after college, and that's fine."

"Yeah. So logistic stuff, huh? That must make you pretty smart." Derek chuckled and gave her a nod, he did have an issue with priding himself for his smarts. Sam smirked slightly and tilted her head. "I would have pegged you for a jock of sorts, but I guess since you're a friend of the dork, that would have to make you intelligent."

"Well, I don't know if I'd say Freddie's all _that_ smart. It comes pretty close. We prefer calling him the 'techie' of the group. He is the geek of the trio, after all." He laughed once more and Sam's lips curled back into a large smile, her heart started to slam into her chest and she quickly opened the door. She bent down and smiled at Derek.

"If you want to grab something to eat, go ahead. It'll be about two hours. Stay nearby, just in case, but be here _before_ six, if you can. At least thirty minutes before. I don't want to be stuck here when the sun starts going down."

"All right, can do ma'am." He smirked subtly and the blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Call me Sam, or Samantha, but I much prefer _Sam_."

"All right. See you at six, then."

"I'll be here." She started to turn away, then froze, peering back slightly. "Hey, if I can ask. Do you watch porn at all?" She really hoped he didn't, she wouldn't want him to think poorly of her. She saw his face twist slightly and he waved his hand dismissively.

"No, don't have time for that crap anyway." She smiled with relief and closed her eyes. He probably knew of her lifestyle anyway, by now everybody in the world knew. She wondered if he actually did or not, and if he would bring it up. As if he read her mind, he cleared his throat and locked onto her eyes. "And for the record, in case you're wondering, I do know you shot a few sex videos online…I don't really care so much, you seem like a nice person, that's what is important." Her eyes lit up and her heart began to dance, finally there was someone who wasn't completely judgmental! He put his hand on his steering wheel and smiled at her. "I think I'll stop over at the diner I saw down the street, grab myself a drink and a bowl of soup. I should be back at five thirty."

"Okay, I'll be looking."

"You think I'll be late?" He raised his eyebrow and smirked as she placed her hands to her hips. She narrowed her eyes deviously and grinned.

"You may be a military man, but I'm still willing to bet you'll be late."

"Not on your life. I'll be here."

"Fine, if you are here, then you're taking me to dinner." He lifted his eyebrows and Sam's eyes went towards the sky. Did she just say that? She was going to die from embarrassment now, that was, if he thought it meant a date. While a date would be _great_, as long as he didn't expect sex afterwards. She did not want that. He didn't seem like that type of guy, though, very respectable man.

"Don't forget your stuffed rabbit, Miss Puckett." He gave her a smug smirk as he pointed to the rabbit on the passenger seat. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed as she swiped the rabbit and quickly shut the door. Now _that_ was embarrassing.

"Oh my god!" She scurried towards the front door, rang the doorbell, and glanced back over her shoulder. He had waited for her to get to the door. When the door opened, he gave her a farewell salute and drove off. As she looked back to the door, she saw a kind lady, possibly middle aged, with straight blonde hair going past her shoulders. She had blue eyes and a sharp nose. "H-Hi, I'm Sam. Pastor Zach told me to come here."

"Yeah, he told me he wanted me to counsel you. Come in, I'm Mrs. Crown, but you can call me Dee." The woman gave a friendly smile to Sam and let her inside. "Now, would you like anything to drink? I have soda, tea, coffee, water…"

"Maybe some coffee to calm my nerves…" Dee led her into the kitchen and grabbed a cup for her. Sam set the cup down on the wooden countertop that ran against the wall. It had a curve at the end that ran towards the laundry room door, but met with a white refrigerator. The coffee pot sat next to wooden stair railings and steps covered with brown shag carpeting, curling up to the floor above them.

Sam poured the coffee into the cup and smiled as she looked to the bulletin board on the yellow wall in front of her. It had notes and cards, some birthday cards and some stuff detailing events for church, or other things. The floor was made of yellow linoleum. To her right was a small area with two computers propped up against the wall. To her left was the silver sink and the black stove. In front of the stove was a brown wooden wall that held the oven.

The room she'd entered into when entering the house was actually a den, it had two computers against the front wall on the right, a chair positioned in front of a television and its stand that contained some cable boxes and a PS3. The carpeting was brown, as was the rest of the house. On the left of the room was a large, round, oak table with swivel chairs and grey padded cushioning around it. The roof was high up, and at the top, above the bookshelves containing books and other artifacts, was a wooden railing that overlooked the room from the second floor.

Sam poured two shots of creamer into her coffee cup, added some sugar to it, and stirred it carefully. Lifting the cup up, she followed Dee into the living room, which had two brown reclining chairs resting against the stairway and a brown, glass end table in between them. There was an entryway into a small hallway facing the side of the recliners. On the left of the hallway was a yellow, three seat couch, leaning against the wall. In the opposite corner of the room was a very large television and two glass stands on either side of it. On one the wall to the right of the television was a yellow reclining chair, to the left of the television was a brick fireplace on which a WII sat upon.

"Take a seat, wherever you feel comfortable. Or would you prefer to sit at the table?"

"I think I'd rather the table. This is a beautiful house you have."

"Thank you." The two walked back into the front room. Dee sat in the chair with the back to the wall and a file cabinet, it was the back of the table. The head was with the chair facing the two computers and television at the far end. Sam took her seat to Dee's left, to where she faced the two long windows with sideways blinds.

"I can't imagine you living here without a big family."

"Well, I am married. I have three children, actually. One of them just recently graduated from college, my son's now entering that college, and my youngest is homeschooled."

"Oh cool, where are all of them?"

"Well my husband took them to the movies. Normally I do that, but since I was going to give you some counseling, I asked him to."

"Okay, that's cool." Sam sipped her coffee nervously and gently set it down on the soft brown coaster. "I'm glad you're doing this with me, it's really hard…You don't have to."

"Well I want to. I'm here for you. Anything we talk about is strictly confidential, between us two."

"Thanks. You know, I'm also going to be going to go to these SA meetings, starting tomorrow. Hopefully those will go well."

"They should. You know the twelve steps they follow? A lot like alcoholics anonymous." Sam's head perked up as Dee pointed her pen towards the open folder on her desk. "You'll be dealing with those there, it's highly religious."

"I believe in God, I'm trying to become spiritual like my family, like Valerie and Jonah…"

"Okay. Well, I guess right now we could get to know each other. Think of me as your friend, okay? I'm here to listen and maybe we can take a break and play cards. Whatever you feel like doing. If you don't feel comfortable about something, let me know, okay?"

"I'll do that." Sam smiled happily and took another sip of her coffee. She really liked this lady and did feel comfortable with her. Sure she was a bit afraid, but aside from that, she knew she'd be okay.

At 5:29, she was watching the clock anxiously. She'd already told Dee about Derek, and the woman was also waiting to see if he'd make it there. She thought he'd make a good friend too, considering he knew Jonah and was in the military. Military men were _very_ respectable people. They watched the second hand eagerly, Sam's palms were actually sweating. She didn't know why, she was just becoming anxious.

As the second hand hit the twelve, Dee pointed to the window with a smile growing strongly at her lips. Sam gasped and her eyes started to widen when she looked out the window and saw Derek pulling up next to the curb. 5:30 on the dot, just as he said. "A man of his word too, huh Sam."

"Oh we shall see. I'm glad he's here early, because of Douglas, you know."

"You said Douglas lives around here?" Sam nodded her head and Dee tried to think about if she'd seen him around the area. She did recall seeing him at the community pool once, so she knew he must live in the general neighborhood. "I'll keep an eye out for him if you'd like."

"Please and thank you." Dee smiled reassuringly and looked towards Derek's car.

"Let's say he actually does ask you out at some point of time, or any guy for that matter, do you think you're ready to date?" Sam bit her lip and turned her eyes to the table. She had to try, if she ever had the opportunity.

"I don't know, I just know it'd be best to spend time with a guy and get to know him first. Above all else…I'm not sure if I could handle a serious relationship or not, but I know I wouldn't want to screw it up. I'm just scared of a guy looking at my past and taking off…"

"A good man won't do that to you."

"I hope you're right…I really do…" Dee placed her hand on Sam's and looked into her eyes, filling her with comfort.

"How about I let you go early. Maybe Derek will take you somewhere nice to eat."

"Well he never did say he _would_, he just kind of drove off. I don't know if he really would go for that or not…probably not, with my luck."

"Well try." Dee winked and Sam slowly stood up from the chair. "I'll see you next Monday?"

"Yeah. Thanks for everything." She hugged Dee and quickly left the house. Derek spotted her from the car and waved, grinning smugly. She felt her heart rise to her throat and slowly turned her eyes to the corner of the street in the distance. She saw a dog on a leash cross the corner, then a man. He was so far down the street that he didn't see her, but she recognized him. It was Douglas! Her body stiffened and she quickly ran into the car, slammed the door shut and pushed the belt into the belt buckle.

"Drive, just drive." Derek pushed the gear into drive and pressed down on the gas pedal. He glanced over to see Sam eyeing the side mirror anxiously.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just Douglas…"

"The manager guy that Freddie said he pummeled a couple nights ago?" Sam pulled her attention away from the mirror and laughed. She couldn't believe Freddie would actually say that, much less, feel any sense of pride over it.

"Yeah, that's the guy. I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"No problem. Now tell me, where would you like to eat?" Sam lifted her eyebrows up astonishingly and glanced to the side, she was stunned that he actually _remembered_. "I told you I'd get here, and here I am. I'm just surprised you got out early."

"Yeah, we wrapped things up quicker than expected. She was very nice. Anyway, as far as food goes, I'm starving, so you pick."

"All right then, I have a great place in mind. Valerie always says that Jonah, Freddie and I aren't allowed to eat Italian unless she's making it, but she jokes usually." Sam rolled her window down and hung her elbow outside. She let the wind blow through her hair and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted over to Carly and her lips curled into a frown. What was going on with her? Was she okay? What was she doing right now?

"Where do you have in mind?"

"You've heard of Arcadia, over on 1st Avenue, right?" Sam's jaw dropped and she quickly shut it. She'd always wanted to go there, Valerie said the Italian food there was spectacular! And if she said that, she must be right, because she knew Italian. Her dad came from an Italian family, with his parents being full blooded Italian, that's why Valerie's best type of meal was Italian. She knew how to cook that more than any other type of food out there.

"I've never been there, I've wanted to go…"

"Well now you will. Should I assume you're going to pay for your portion or should I?"

"I have no money…" She looked at him guiltily and he shrugged his shoulders. "I donated it all."

"No problem."

"Should we let Jonah and Valerie know I'm out eating with you tonight? Do you think they'd get upset if I wasn't home when they got there?"

"It'll be fine, but yeah we should probably call them. When Jonah gets off, that'll be our best bet."

"All right. Well while you drive, I'm going to call Carly and see if she's there." Derek nodded as Sam pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed the number she had for Carly. She placed it to her ear and waited for it to ring, but it didn't.

_We're sorry, the number you have dialed is disconnected or no longer in service, if you feel you've received-_

Sam gasped and shut the phone off. Carly's phone number didn't exist anymore? Was that good or bad? Did her grandfather cut off all communications? She swallowed hard and stared out the window once more. Derek looked to her sadly, then moved his eyes back to the road.

"She didn't answer?"

"Her phone…it's gone…I can't reach her anymore…" She wiped her eyes and tried to hold her breath, fearing if she didn't, she'd start to cry. Crying was one thing she _didn't_ want to do around Derek.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I know things have been hard on you lately…"

"You don't know the half of it, Derek…You don't know the half of it…"

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><p>Haha, I modeled the counselor's home after my Aunt Dee's home ^_^. Looks like Sam and Derek are becoming good friends, and she's still nervous around him. Well, the next chapter begins the long arc that is Carly and Douglas, they have a grand total of 10 chapters. I figured I had to give Carly some time as well. Now it gets interesting: You're in for twists, shocks, bumps, curves and turns. Good sailing! ^_^<p> 


	27. Red Light District

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N ALERT, READ NOW: This song is going to feature (not in the same way as the last one) a song that Heartless-are-Squirrels showed me. We agreed it fits Carly, and yes, this is a Carly chapter. This chapter is a little bit _too_ mature for what I intended with this story. Granted there are no lemons here, but it comes close. Basically the song is Red Light District by Porcelain Tramps, and in Carly's opener which is on the same day/time as Sam's last chapter, and Carly's working as a stripper unbeknownst to her granddad. Oh, and the gang member that Sam met up with finds Carly at the end and she gives him a private show. That's about all you need to know. If I can, I will put the next chapter up with this chapter and you can just skip over to chapter 28.

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><p>Chapter 27 (Red Light District)<p>

What Granddad didn't know, wouldn't hurt him, but she needed money. Since that asshole dumped her and her brother sent her away, her account had been closed. God only knows where that money went. The music for Red Light District, by Porcelain and the Tramps, played as she slowly painted her lips with soft cherry lipstick. Cherry, exactly what she was going to bust of whatever virginal man was here. And her granddad assumed she got a _respectable _job. She looked up as the DJ outside started croaking out his jokes. She craned her neck and narrowed her eyes. She was wearing a small, glittery, white tank top which barely covered her breasts. It was ted into a knot just beneath her breasts and left a large, oval area on her chest, revealing heavy cleavage. She had shorts that only covered the very tips of her thigh, it didn't help that they had two long tears in the leg portion. Her feet bore crystal heels. She smirked as the DJ announced her name. _"You know her formerly from internet stardom based in Seattle, now she's here for an entirely different fame and entertainment, yours! Carlotta Shay!_

_9 inch heels come marching in  
>to please a black tied dirty old man.<br>Staring, sweating, barely caring,  
>slurring, "Break me in."<em>

She flipped her dark hair back and opened the doors of the stage. The stage lights struck her eyes and blinded her for a second. Next came the moldy smell of cigarettes. Did this bother her? No, it couldn't, she had a job to do now. In a quick stride, she made her way to the center silver pole, placing her two fingers to the tie on her shirt, smirking seductively at all the men in the bar. They all ranged from their early thirties to, disgustingly so, early sixties.

_Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>She'll give it up, if you wanna pay up.<br>Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>I know you want to.<em>

"This is nothing," she whispered to herself, slowly pulling the ties apart and undoing the knot. Her mind wasn't completely on her job, she'd been thinking a lot about Sam and quite a bit about more Douglas. Where had she been? What had she been up to? It was all too much for her to bear not being able to talk to her, but someone changed her cell phone. It could have been Douglas, for all she knew, for all she cared.

She saw money being strewn out of men's pockets as she started to take her shirt off and reveal her bare chest to all the eyes in the room. She groaned pleasurably, listening to all the whistles coming from the men in there.

_Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>She'll give it up, if you wanna pay up.<br>Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>Shes waiting for you.<em>

It didn't take much to get a job there, all she had to do was appear and the man in charge immediately wanted her, due to her friend Bridget, that she met at the airport. She had another friend or two in the strip bar, but they usually worked different days than she did. Her boss wasn't too bad, he was nice, but he also did have to be pretty strict. He had every right to be, though.

She gripped the silver pole in her left hand and pulled herself against it, pressing it in between her breasts. She had to put on a show for them, she needed to make plenty of money. She was only set to work three nights a week. Her granddad usually was asleep and didn't really care what she did, at least this late he did.

She slid down the pole with a seductive moan and threw her head back, allowing one older man to come up to the stage and push a twenty dollar bill into her underwear. Her body shivered as she felt his frail, bony hand, against her skin.

_Girls and boys in the red light district.  
>You can watch her spin 'round a pole just like a beauty queen.<br>Boys and girls in the red light district.  
>Take it to my private room,<br>I *can* make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush.  
>I'll make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush. <em>

She leaned forward and brought her lips close to his cheek, very seductively. She saw his face glow red and quickly turned away. She then brought herself onto her back and lifted her legs above her head. Many eyes admired her as she spun herself slowly around the stage, pushing her legs out wide, then pushing her hips into the air in a sensual motion.

That did the trick, she grinned as more money spilled out onto the stage. She carefully rolled over onto her chest, on top of all the money, and kicked her heels into the air. She took a look at a man with a beard full of chips, wine, and ashes, then winked at him while kicking her heel towards him. His eyes lit up as the silver heel promptly landed into his lap, pressing into his sensitive area. He coughed up a fifty and placed it on the stage.

_She went away into your pocket  
>with fake eye lashes that she flashes.<br>Crawling towards you on her bruised knees  
>kinda makes me think that *she'll* <em>

_Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>She'll give it up, if you wanna pay up.<br>Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>I know you want to.<br>Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>She'll give it up, if you wanna pay up.<br>Give it up, give it up, give it up.  
>Shes waiting for you.<em>

She bat her eyelashes towards the others in the room and backed up against the pole, bending forward and sliding her rear up and down the pole. She let out an accidental moan as the pole rubbed against her sensitive regions.

"Looks like she's getting off with the pole!" The DJ laughed jokingly, earning a very cold glare from her. He winced and cleared his throat. "Looks like Carlotta's not too happy about that, better be careful folks, this chick looks ready to kill."

She smirked and let out a playful growl. She enjoyed the eyes upon her and felt like she gained a world of attention just from a simple twirl or two. She had to laugh at the things that turned old men on. These were the people who would cheat on their wives, their girlfriends, or the people who would start to show their true colors. Honestly, why did these men opt to even come here?

She gripped the cold bar and squinted her eyes in the light as she started to bend underneath her legs. Well, if they didn't come, she wouldn't get any money.

_Girls and boys in the red light district.  
>You can watch her spin 'round a pole just like a beauty queen.<br>Boys and girls in the red light district.  
>Take it to my private room,<br>I *can* make you dirty boys-_

She rose up and placed her fingertips on the edges of her underwear, slipping her fingertips inside. She couldn't remove those pants, not unless she was to give someone a private show. She didn't like the private shows too much, because it put her in a room where just about anything could happen to her. Nowadays, though, she'd seen it all.

She saw many men growing faint as she teased them with her underwear, pulling it down just barely, then bringing it back up. The DJ made yet another witty remark and she turned her eyes upon him once more, she could do without his statements.

_Girls and boys in the red light district.  
>You can watch her spin 'round a pole just like a beauty queen.<br>Boys and girls in the red light district.  
>Take it to my private room,<br>I *can* make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush.  
>I'll make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush.<em>

Her show was coming to an end, she knew she better pick one person to give a private show for. She opted for the Mexican who paid her the highest, she saw him toss a hundred in between her legs. He bore a striking red bandana, had a light stubbly mustache and a small, square stubble under his lip. His tattoo revealed him to be a member of one of the gangs in the Seattle area, but those members usually traveled all over the state. Hell, it was possible for him to have even met Sam.

She met his eyes and smirked as she picked her shirt from the ground and started making her way towards him. She bent over and put her finger to his chest, trailing it down towards his waistline and withdrawing her finger just before his crotch. "Ay, Chica…"

She winked and turned around, bending over to collect her money. As she did this, she felt him tough her thighs. She gasped and playfully smacked his hand, then pushed her money into her underwear. As she turned around, she leaned close and blew onto his lips. "Follow me…"

_Hello, hello dear sir.  
>I've got something for you.<br>Look in my hand, I've got a couple of pills.  
>Pop 'em.<br>_

"Looks like she chose her private client," The DJ whistled out the statement and Carly once more shot him a slow glare. She glided off the stage and casually walked into a private room. It was just a room with black walls, a bed, and a red chair. The man walked into the room and closed the door, locking it and grinning widely at her. Sex was strictly _not allowed_, so he would only get a lap dance.

"So pleased that you joined me, sir. I've been waiting for you." She groaned and pushed him onto the chair. He started to get a bit excited as she moved close to him, her hips level with his face. He pushed his face into her hips and her head fell back as she let out a surprised yelp. She'd not expected that. "You're not supposed to do that."

_I'll make you feel hot and your wife feel horrible.  
>I'll make you wanna, make you wanna.<br>I'll make you feel hot and I'll make you feel right  
>so I'll spread my legs and just let go.<em>

She playfully smacked him and bent forward, shaking her chests in front of him. "Hands off unless I say otherwise. Tell me, aren't you from Seattle?"

"Yes Chica, but the leader has asked me to set up in Yakima for a few months. I met your lady partner, but she didn't want to come for me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" She pressed her hands to her breasts and turned her back to him, groaning softly as she sat down in his lap and began to grind. She already didn't really like him, if he was talking about Sam, which he supposed he was. "I can come for you, or better yet, I can make you do so…"

_Girls and boys in the red light district.  
>You can watch her spin 'round a pole just like a beauty queen.<br>Boys and girls in the red light district.  
>Take it to my private room,<br>I *can* make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush.  
>I'll make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush.<br>Blush, blush, blush blush.  
>I'll make you dirty boys blush, blush, blush, blush.<em>

Something clicked in the man's head and he quickly stood up, throwing her against the bed. She yelped and looked up as he moved on top of her and grinned. So, that was how he wanted to do it? She knew these gang members well enough to know that she'd better not refuse them. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, then brought her lips to his, kissing him frantically.

Oh her granddad would be _pissed_ if he knew what she was up to late at night, he might just have a heart attack. But that wasn't her biggest concern as she laid her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes tightly. She let out one single name. "...Douglas..."

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><p>Okay, as I believe I said, posting the next chapter now. So if you read this chapter, great, if not, that's fine. Review and prepare.<p> 


	28. Her Mother

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 28 (Her Mother)<p>

Carly entered her grandfather's home with the house keys he'd given her, he was so certain that she wouldn't act out while she was with him, but that didn't mean he trusted her. Hell, the prick hardly even talked to her, he just flat out didn't give a shit about her. The living room light was out, minus a small glow coming from an outlet night light that her granddad used to see if he or Carly got up in the dark. The house was pretty small, a two bedroom shack with very little area space. It was the size of a pea compared to Jonah and Valerie's home, or Sam's home, or even the apartment she'd lived in with Spencer.

Ah Spencer. She sighed and shook her head as she thought on her brother. He probably moved to a larger house with Sasha by now. She wasn't even allowed to their fucking wedding, but what did she care? Her eyes crossed the small rectangular living room with the oak brown couch facing the television set that was just a few feet away, resting on a rug. "Screw this shack of a trailer…Granddad should have a bigger house than this piece of crap."

The carpet was grey and it ran towards a red and white tiled floor which became the kitchen. There was a stove, a small countertop next to that, then a silver refrigerator next to that. In front of the small countertop was a window with silver curtains. Carly smacked her lips and walked towards the fridge, opened it and grabbed a bottle of water from it. She needed something to wash out her mouth and throat. She felt dirty, but hell, it was the only life she really knew.

She turned to a hallway and jumped when she spotted her grandfather walking out of it. Tyrone Shay was dressed in a blue shirt and flannel pants, his face was tired and grey, and his hair was a mess. He glanced towards a clock and frowned. "Just get in, Carly?"

"Yeah, you know how it goes, hanging out with my friend I met at the airport." That wasn't too much of a lie, she _did_ meet someone on the plane and befriended them. In fact, that person was the very stripper that got her the job at the strip joint. Tyrone pulled a carton of milk from the fridge and poured himself a glass. He sniffed the air and took a sip of his drink.

"You smell like cigarette smoke. Why?"

"My friend has a boyfriend who smokes, no big deal. So, I'm starting up high school in August, right?" He nodded and pushed the gallon of milk back into the fridge.

"Yeah. Get to bed." He took one last look at Carly, then headed down the long hallway, past the door leading into the bathroom, and entered his bedroom door which was on the right.

"Whatever…" She took a swig of the water and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. That man was real aggressive, she was enjoying herself but the last few minutes of the whole ordeal he was getting a bit too pushy and the bouncers had to rush in and take him off her. She wouldn't mind meeting up with him again, but she wasn't too sure if she really wanted to. What would her good friends say? They'd probably hate her guts.

The shower lasted fifteen minutes, then she got out and made her way to the bedroom, feeling clean and comfortable. Her bedroom was a relatively decent sized room with a television in the corner, window on the right, closet on the left, and a purple bed in the center. She grabbed her laptop from the dresser next to the closet and propped onto the bed. As she opened the laptop, she saw her father was online on the instant messenger.

She smiled and clicked his name, wondering if he had time to talk. He'd been over in Iran, as a war had finally broken out with them and American troops all over were being sent in. She wondered if he knew about what she'd been doing, most likely he did. Chances were also highly likely that Spencer informed him by now that she was living in Yakima with her grandfather. She clicked the video call button and grinned. Sure it was midnight for her, but for him it was only 11 in the morning. He answered her video chat call after a few rings. Carly smiled brightly as she spotted his military uniform and cap, she was looking forward to talking to him. "Hey Daddy."

"Carly, shouldn't you be in bed at this hour?" Carly chuckled and twirled her finger in her hair. He was probably the one thing she had that kept her from losing herself entirely right now. She kept hoping for him to come home, for him to pull her away from her Granddad and Spencer.

"Sorry Dad, I just can't sleep. I just got f-" She caught herself and cleared her throat. Steven raised his eyebrow suspiciously as she gave him a quick smile. "I just got fucking shunned by gramps. Granddad hates me, Daddy."

"I'm sure it's not like that." She rolled her eyes as Steven turned around and high fived one of his friends. He returned to the computer and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "I'm actually eating lunch right now, so I don't have too much time." She nodded and kicked her legs slowly in the air.

"Daddy, he doesn't talk to me. He sleeps all day. I could probably go screw around all day and he wouldn't know, or care!" Steven's brow furrowed as he gave Carly a stern look. She let that one slip and she knew it, but she didn't really care. "All I'm saying is, it's granddad, he just doesn't care. It's like he's given up on me completely!"

"A lot of people have, Carly. I heard about what happened with Spencer." Carly bit her lip and turned her eyes to the comforter. She still felt the guilt and was reeling with pain over what had taken place. Her dad knew everything, she just wouldn't be able to hide it. "He also told me about how you're having to take another year of high school. Now why is that Carly? You're a smart girl, you shouldn't be doing the things you're involved with."

"I know, Daddy, it's just…that one guy got me involved in it."

"Douglas? I told you that guy was no good for you."

"He dumped me, Daddy. He dumped me just a few days ago." Carly's eyes started to water and she bowed her head onto the comforter in between her arms. Steven pressed his lips together and sighed with sorrow. He knew his daughter was hurting, he knew she was in pain, and he wanted to be there. Hell, the minute early leave would be up for grabs, he wanted to take it and be there for her, perhaps save her from that life.

"Carly, that lifestyle you're in…why are you involved in it?"

"I can't stop, daddy. It's just…the money, the feeling of it, the addiction, it's there." She moved her hands to her chest and let her tears run down her cheeks. "I do want to stop, but it's all I know. I can't change it."

"Tell me, if I were to come home. If I were to bring you home, would you stop?" Carly remained silent for a minute, questioning her father and wondering if he was being serious, if he actually meant it as a possibility. She knew he wouldn't.

"You probably don't believe I could stop if I wanted to, Daddy. Truth is, I like the lifestyle too much to make that decision, and there's really nothing that would be able to pull me away from it." Steven rolled his neck in a circular fashion, popping a crick in his neck and letting out a deep sigh. Carly's body trembled as she recalled the touch of that man on her skin, so rough, but yet so good. She closed her eyes and slowly twisted her body in a sexual motion. "It just feels too good to quit right now."

"Uh, first of all…" Steven cleared his throat and shuddered with disgust. He wanted to erase what he just saw from his mind. "Never do that in front of me again, please." Carly's eyebrows rose and she chuckled nervously. "And two, I believe without a doubt that you can change." She scoffed and sat up, crossing her legs and her arms as she glared with skepticism at her father. "What?"

"It's not as easy as you think it is to stop. You think I can stop, but I _can't_. I crave the feeling and I'll say it again, that life is _all_ I know. What's the point of quitting when nobody else believes in me, when nobody else gives a shit about me. Besides, all man wants is sex, and I'll never have a real relationship with real man, so why should I give a damn about all that? Hm?"

"It's possible…"

"I'm an internet porn star, Dad. A stripper. Not _quite_ a prostitute, but for all purposes and intents, that could work too. I can't just give it up with ease! It's impossible!"

"No it isn't! I believe in you, just as I believed in your mother!" Carly recoiled back and stared at her father's eyes. He never really talked about her mother, neither did Spencer. To be honest, her mom was still a secret to even her. All she knew was what the woman looked like, how long she lived, and the occupation she had as a call center representative. Only, she worked there for three years before her death, Carly was just five. Before that, she'd been going on and off a bunch of odd jobs, struggling to even find one. No one ever said why. Steven moved his eyes to the side and pressed his lips tightly together as Carly released a shaky breath.

"What about mom?"

"Your mother, Spencer's mother…" He closed his eyes and felt his stomach begin tightening as if he was going to throw up. Her death was something he hated to think about, absolutely despised it. It could have been, should have been prevented, but he hadn't been able to be there for her. He hadn't been able to protect her. He'd been overseas at the time. "I always believed that we inherited certain traits, positive and negative, from our parents and generations before. The things we struggle with, likely our parents or grandparents have struggled with it too. Whether or not it's as flared up, or worse, we might deal with it."

"Okay…so what are you saying…" Her body started to tense up, she couldn't shake the possibility of what that deep dark secret her father was about to say. Her mind was spinning and she was praying he wouldn't say it.

"I should have protected her, Carly, but instead I was overseas…I couldn't save her." Carly placed her hand to her chest, feeling her heart breaking in two. She always thought her mom died in the hospital, of some sickness. What more to that story was there? "To this day, we never talked about her life. We never talked about how Spencer was born out of wedlock, how she wandered the streets…"

"What?" Her eyes started to widen as the color began to leave her body. Her hands clenched around the blanket as her father continued on.

"She was ashamed of those days, but nobody could get her out. Spencer knows he's not my biological son, but in his mind, I am. She never knew who the father was, and he never cared to look for him."

"Oh my god…what would he do if he knew?"

"Probably kill him, to be honest." Steven chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, your mother…was a prostitute. She met up with the wrong people and that was her life. She wanted out, then she met me…I didn't do things 'right', I just took her away. Saved her from that life, gave her, as well as her son, a new and better life." Carly slowly cupped her mouth and felt the tears run over her fingers. Her mom was a _prostitute_? How the hell could that be? It made sense, though, especially if it was as her father said, they inherited stuff from their ancestors.

"W-What happened, Daddy?"

"Your mom was murdered…you see, her…'pimp' found her…He wanted to take her back, but she refused to go. She had you two to think about. This whole thing is why Spencer had been ready to give you another chance until you did what you did at that park…"

"Soft spot for mom?"

"Yeah…well that pimp figured if he couldn't have her, nobody else would, and he shot her down…When I found out, she was already gone…died on the operating table." Sam gasped and shook her head, how could that be? Was she following in the footsteps of her mother? No, she couldn't be. "I couldn't save your mother, Carly…but if I have to, I _will_ save you from that life. Mark my words."

"Daddy…"

"I have to go, superior's ordering us to the barracks. Get some sleep, goodnight Carly. I love you, sweetie."

"I-I love you too, Daddy." She stared at the computer screen as it flashed off from her father's camera. She put a shaky hand on the top of her laptop and shut it. She was afraid now, but she felt she had to know more. She _had_ to know more about her mother. First, though, it was time to sleep. She had a busy day tomorrow.

* * *

><p>So she learns some shocking news. The next chapter, she will investigate, and we'll find some more interesting information out!<p> 


	29. News Report

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 29 (News Report)<p>

Carly awoke in a cold sweat, her chest was heaving and her breath was frantic. She just had a nightmare of Douglas shoving her about, forcing her into a life of prostitution, then slowly his image had begun to change into that of her mother. She shook her head and slowly looked to her clock, it was only five in the morning, way too early to wake up, but too late to get back to sleep. She needed something cold, something to wake her up and get her mind off of that nightmare.

She pushed herself from the bed and made her way out towards the kitchen, hopefully she wouldn't wake her granddad. As she opened the refrigerator, she thought back to Douglas. She couldn't help but wonder how Sam was faring with him. She opened the door and spotted some ice cold lemon tea, she gripped the container and pulled it from the fridge. _"Why haven't I been able to get through to her?" _ Maybe Douglas decided to cut off Sam's phone? It was a possibility, but she didn't think he _would_ do that.

She opened the container and brought the cool liquid to her lips, not caring that she drank from that rather than a glass. The icy liquid splashed onto her tongue, sending the chills down her throat and esophagus. As she brought the container down, she thought again of Sam. It broke her heart, but she had to quit thinking about her. "The more I think about her, the more depressed I get…it has to stop…I have to stay focused." Furthermore, thinking about Sam made her yearn for a life that just couldn't happen now, it was far too late.

What had she wanted to do with her life before pornography? Go into politics? Maybe, but she wasn't too sure. College would have fixed that right up, now it was too late. Maybe if she could ever reach Sam-but no, she couldn't worry about her. She made her way to the couch and sank into it, moaning quietly in frustration. Why was it she couldn't forget about all of them? Why did she have to think so hard about those she knew back in Seattle? Everything she knew felt like a sham. Her mother had been a prostitute, but at least it meant even a prostitute could find love, right? She scoffed and rubbed her right temple with her fingers. She wasn't like Sam, always concerned about finding that one guy, the one guy who would truly love her.

She looked out the nearby window and frowned as she thought about Valerie and Melanie, they were the lucky ones. They were the ones who found somebody that really worked with them, that loved them and took care of them. Melanie, with all her tenderness, her softness, she needed someone like Freddie to be there and keep her from falling off the deep end when something happens that is beyond what she can handle. Valerie had that issue of everyone messing with her, threatening her, even hurting her in various ways after she tried to break up the iCarly gang years ago. Someone like Jonah, who knew what it felt like to be ostracized by people, was just right for her. He cared enough about her to keep those people away from her, to love her, to protect her. Even Sam would need someone special, someone to love her despite the things she had done. Did one of those guys exist? She wasn't too sure.

"All men want is sex, at least in my opinion…" She flipped on the television and switched over to the news. Maybe, just maybe, something was interesting on the local news of Yakima. When she had moved here, the news was actually making a story out of her arrival, as if they honestly had _nothing else_ to report on. Her granddad never bothered with the local news for that simple reason. Crime levels were at an all time low, which was a good thing, but still this city was just so terribly boring. Granted the biggest thing Yakima had was gang activity, but beside that, nothing.

She stared in boredom at the screen in front of her and slowly glanced to the side. They were _still_ talking about her. It was when they heard Sam's name that she grew interested in. She was worried about her after that Hispanic gang member screwed her over in the strip club, he said he ran into Sam. He was part of a new, up and coming gang, small time scraps but still with the ability to grow. The gang was called the El Niño's. She didn't think it was too great of a name, but that wasn't a concern of hers. Hell, they were so small that hardly anyone knew them, they needed to work on making a name for themselves. She shook the thought from her mind and returned her attention to the TV, her eyes set in slowly upon Sam's picture as the announcer began to speak.

_ "In recent news, we're informed that internet icon, Carly Shay's friend and partner, Samantha Puckett, has recently been kicked from her family home. Her father, one of Seattle's police Lieutenant declines to speak on his daughter's whereabouts. He informs us that she is safe, that she is protected, and she has decided to leave her life of pornography."_ Carly's eyebrows rose with astonishment and relief as she placed her hand above her chest. If Sam could escape, then more power to her, she would hope for the best. Her entire life might still be pretty much over, but at least she wouldn't gain any STDs or have to deal with constant abuse. _"In other news, we were informed that over the weekend, her former manager was arrested on charges of domestic abuse against her. A restraining order has been placed against him and again we are informed that she is safe. Douglas Madison was released Monday morning and has been put under watch for a week. Lieutenant David Puckett has once again declined further statement."_

"Oh my god!" Carly gasped and cupped her hands over her mouth. What did Douglas do to her, was Sam okay? She wanted to know, had to know. Unfortunately with no way to contact her, she might never know. If she's been kicked out, then who would she stay with? Mr. Puckett appeared to know but was probably not mentioning where she was for her own safety.

"What are you doing up?" Carly looked over to see her grandfather walking into the living room. He had a tired expression on his face and appeared very disheveled. Was he not sleeping?

"I was watching the news, someone hurt Sam!"

"Oh, your porno friend?" Carly's eyes widened and she pointed at the television in frustration.

"She's not into porn anymore, Granddad! Anyway, someone hurt her, can you call Freddie or someone and see if they know if she's okay?" Tyrone stared at her with a certain degree of emptiness in his eyes. He just wasn't as lively as he used to be.

"No. You're best to just forget about her. I'm sure she'll forget about you as well. She may want to, considering how you two were involved in the porn business." The wind was knocked from her and she grew speechless. Did he really just say that to her? Sam would _never_ forget her, would she? Screw the porn part of their lives, the two had been best friends, sisters, since they were eight years old. They had a huge bonding aspect in their lives! "Just don't be too loud, I want to sleep."

"You always sleep nowadays, Granddad. It's like you don't even _live_ anymore." Tyrone shrugged his shoulders and made his way back to the bedroom, he could really care less what Carly did or did not do. He knew she'd never be anything now, not after her life in porn. He wasn't like her father, nor was he like Sam's parents, he didn't believe in her ability to change. Not anymore. He just knew, if she didn't want to change, then she was never going to change. Carly watched him walk away and ground her teeth against each other. She let her tears drip to her chin and slowly stood up. Why did everyone hate her now?

The clock above the television said 5:30, it was time to begin her day. She wiped her eyes and stepped outside the door with her laptop. She wasn't going to be anywhere near her granddad, not today. She moved to the second, rusty appearing car, entered it and started it up. It was her granddad's older car and the one he let her drive. He had a much newer looking Pontiac that he drove.

Carly tightened her grip on the wheel and pulled out of the driveway, then sped down the street. As she stared up in the night sky, she saw two golden arches lit up in the distance. She smiled and started driving towards the twenty four hour McDonalds, it would be a nice resting spot for her and should have free wireless.

* * *

><p>Well, next chapter Carly's going to be doing a little research, be prepared for a big shock.<p> 


	30. Who were you, Mom?

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 30 (Who Were You, Mom?)<p>

As she pulled into a parking space, she quickly exited the car and ran into the McDonalds. It wasn't a large one, rather a small one with all the seats right at the entrance. There was a wall separating the seats from the front register, where a lonely old woman sat reading a book. There was a restroom off to the side, and that was about it. The cashier looked up at her and Carly lifted her laptop up. The woman gave her a small smile as Carly moved to a table and propped open her computer.

Today wasn't going to be a day of sex, not for her. Today was going to be a day of research. What else could she do, really? She didn't know anyone here, she sure as hell wasn't making friends with the people who opted to have sex with her. Maybe, just _maybe_ she could call Bridget, the stripper she met at the airport. That girl was her age and was nice, she'd even given Carly her phone number in case she wanted to hang out. That would be time for later, though. First, she wanted to find out about her mother.

"Looking up Jessie S…no, Bates. Jessie Carlson." She flexed her fingers and started typing, narrowing her eyes in thought. She'd never really researched her mother before, only because she thought she knew everything. Turns out that neither Spencer, Steven, or anyone else in the family wanted to talk about her, or the circumstances surrounding her death and life. _"What was it we learned in school? Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it? If mom was a prostitute, then her records should be online somewhere."_

The search results lit up with several references, but her search wasn't as detailed as she wanted, so she typed in some more information she _did_ know about her mom, such as her birthday. That narrowed the results extremely and the first link astonished her. She felt a cold wind as she parted her lips and ran her eyes over the name of the strip club she worked at. _Lustful Divas._ She knew it had been around a long time, but she never knew it had been around _that_ long. Her mom was born in 1956, died in 1999 or 2000.

_Yakima, Washington's first strip club: Lustful Divas opens its doors on this the 12__th__ day of the 3__rd__ month of 1972. Already it has eight girls working, the youngest being sixteen years of age. Remarkably, Jezebel "Jessie" Carlson is permitted for this kind of work. Jezebel Carlson came to know the owner of the club on a personal level when she fled her hometown, claiming that her parents had died in a tragic accident. The owner took her in and allowed her to work as a waitress. He says that when she turns eighteen, she will become one of his dancers._

Carly eyed the black and white photo that appeared alongside the article, and sure enough, right in front of the building was the club's first owner. She recognized him from a framed photo in the strip club. He was kneeling down. Standing behind him was a line of eight girls, four were dancers and the other four were waitresses, carrying trays with them. The short girl with frizzy brown hair hanging just above her shoulders was staring Carly right in the eyes, she not only looked exactly like her, but she also looked exactly like a photo of her mother that she'd seen from when she was around that age. Her throat tightened and she carefully clicked off of it. If her mother was the youngest girl at Yakima's first strip club and the oldest one still running, then she shouldn't be hard to find articles about.

Carly hung her tongue on the corner of her lips as she clicked another article that was about her mother, but this one was strange. It was about a death, so who died? The article was dated on _July 14, 1975. _Her mother would have been nineteen years of age. The headliner was a clincher. _"Fire at the Divas, three dead, youngest dancer missing!" _Carly's heart started to sink as she read the article, it showed pictures as well of the dead. The current owner, as well as Bridget, said they considered the place to have started in the late seventies, early eighties, no one really spoke much about its past. Was this why? Did it really have a blood soaked past? Of the three dead was the original owner, a dancer by the name of Carrie, and a waitress by the name of Regina. The missing dancer was Jezebel "Jessie" Carlson. Carly's heart froze, along with everything around her, the computer became her sole focus.

_Today the police arrived to a grisly scene at the Lustful Divas. A fire was reported to have broken out and destroyed much of the foundation. Inside the main office was the body of the owner, Eric Lucas, he was 69 years old. It is believed that he became trapped beneath a pile of rubble and couldn't get out. One of the waitresses, Regina Francis was also found in the main office, the autopsy stated she died of smoke inhalation. It was believed she tried to free Mr. Lucas from the rubble on top of him and collapsed. The other deceased was Carrie Oswald. The survivors said she would not leave until every last worker was out of the building. She is credited with saving many of their lives. Unfortunately, her closest friend and the famous young Diva, Jezebel Carlson has not been found. _

Carly moved her hand to her mouth and tapped her upper lip as she read the article a second time and examined every inch of it. So Carrie and her mother were close friends, her mother just vanishes after this fire? She moved her eyes to the photo of the building after the fire and frowned, it was completely destroyed. The structure, the foundation, it only left behind a single window. How odd, considering the old building looked so much like the new building. She had to hear more on this. She clicked to through several articles, finally realizing that the internet had led her into the old newspaper clippings of the town, all stored in the public library.

One article from a month after the events particularly caught her eye. _The Lustful Divas club that burned down a month ago is now under new management and is currently using its funding to rebuild the club. He believes they can rise from the ashes, dust off their wounds and move on from this sordid event. When asked what sparked the fire that took the lives of his Uncle, two employees, and left one employee missing, all he had to say was it was gang related. _

_ The police were asked to elaborate on this statement and give answers and they painted a much different picture than what had been reported a month prior. It was said that two rival gangs entered the club with the intent of bargaining and recruiting the girls, but when they spotted each other, that was when the fire show begun. The police explained that they withheld the deaths of the gang members involved, along with what gangs were involved, from the media while they furthered their investigations. They still have declined the names of the gang or the members that were found dead at the scene, but the number of dead totaled from three to at least ten._

Carly's jaw dropped and her eyes slowly widened with each word she glazed over. A history like that, it was no wonder the current owner never talked about it. Although, the current owner was only forty years old, much too young to be the nephew of the original owner. It _was_ a family business, though, so it was possible for the current owner to be the son of the nephew. She ignored the thought, putting it on the back burner for future use, and continued her investigation.

_Speaking to one of the survivors, she gave us the cryptic details and unlocked several tidbits of the mystery that took place on that terrible night. The dancer will not be revealed for safety reasons. Twenty men entered the club all at once, which roused suspicions for the owner, but he let them in regardless. She identified seven of the men as belonging to one gang and thirteen as belonging to the other group, both of their leaders were present._

_ She said the fight started over Jezebel. "Carrie tried to keep Jezebel safe, but with her being nineteen years of age, both gangs wanted to recruit her into prostitution for them." The owner was in the office, so the bouncers were the ones pushing the gang members away. "A gunshot rang out and we saw Todd, that was our head bouncer, take a fall. The girls started to freak and Carrie tried to keep everybody calm. The gang members thought that the shot was fired at them, so they all brought out their guns and knives…"_

Carly felt her throat tighten up and lifted her head as the old cashier brought her a cup of coffee. The cashier took a look at the article Carly was reading and quickly turned away. Carly saw this and grabbed her wrist in suspicion. "Miss, do you know something about that club?"

"No. Enjoy your coffee, ma'am, it's on the house." Carly pressed her lips together as the woman walked back to the register. She shrugged and turned back to the computer. The smell of the coffee met her nose and sent her into a mild state of euphoria, she just loved the first pot of coffee of the day. She took a quick drink of it and continued her readings.

"_Carrie and Jessie tried to settle the gang members and get the girls out, they managed to get most of the dancers out, but the gang members started to block the place after that." Further reports specified the cause of the fire to be arson, the starter was a match put to gasoline, which had been doused all over the floors, walls, and tables. There were four remaining girls in the club, three dancers and one waitress. "Regina and Eric were trapped in the office because of the fire. They'd been hiding out I there when the fight broke out. Around ten o'clock was when the gangs were trying to get out of there, one of their leaders had been killed in the gunfire. Carrie had been shot during the struggle and Jezebel was trying to help her, she was going into shock." The survivor reports indicated one of the dancers, possibly the youngest, was trying to resuscitate another when the surviving leader of one of the gangs entered back in and started to drag her off. The girls left in the building were too weak to help her._

"No, mom…" Carly's hand shook horribly as the cashier watched her closely.

"You knew one of them?" Carly lifted her head up and slowly nodded.

"Yes, my mom…apparently she was Jezebel Carlson." The woman's eyes glazed over and her heart began to break. She slowly made her way back to the table and sat down in the booth across from Carly. Carly lifted her eyebrows up as the woman closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry…if I sounded harsh earlier…My name is Taylor, I'm the woman in that report you're reading…" Carly's eyes shot open and her lips formed a small circle. "Your mother was a great lady, always trying to help everyone, lifting anybody's spirits with whatever pleasant smile she could muster. She and Carrie were the heart and soul of Divas…The day of that fire, those two girls did everything they could to get us out. It was heartbreaking to see your mother cry…when Carrie was shot, that girl let out a scream that none of us ever heard in our entire lives."

"Oh my god…"

"It's better to not focus on that terrible night." Taylor lifted her hand to Carly's face and smiled kindly. "You look just like your mother. Tell me, how is she?" Carly's eyes drifted to the table and Taylor slowly closed her eyes. Her heart cried as she took in Carly's silent answer. "I'm sorry. I guess you're looking her up because you didn't know?"

"I thought I knew everything about her…" Carly gave a laughing scoff and shook her head. "I knew nothing about her. Her past, her life, how she was, who she knew…it was all hidden from me for, god knows why."

"I think maybe whoever your father was, was trying to protect her. You're not alone, though. The current manager of Divas is Carrie's son, she was Eric's granddaughter in law. Her husband took over the club when she died."

"I didn't know that…Do you think they'd know anything about my mom?"

"Maybe, I know Jessie always hung out with Carrie and her family. Let me give you a little advice, stay away from gang members, okay? Sweetie, if you go near that club, they have a strict policy against gangs, but members that are from out of town know nothing of that rule…"

"You think?" Carly's lip twitched and she slowly rolled her eyes. "There was a gang member there just last night…" Taylor raised her eyebrow and Carly gave a brief chuckle. "I'm uh…I'm a stripper there now. I just gave a private dance to a gang member from Seattle that was stationed here…he got me to have sex with him." Taylor breathed in heavily and placed her hand over Carly's.

"Be careful. Those gang members don't have any manners at all. They kidnapped your mother, you know."

"Yeah, I…" Her eyes drifted back to the article and she slowly shook her head. Her eyes were beginning to mist over. "I just got to that."

"Yeah, you want a nutshell?" Taylor's lips flattened together and her eyes narrowed, it wasn't hard for Carly to tell she was harboring some old grudge. "The police and reporters were incompetent fucks. You want the hard truth? Your mother could have been found and saved from a dangerous life of drugs and sex from that gang…but because she was a 'dancer' she was forgotten."

"F-Forgotten?" Carly felt the bile rise up her throat as Taylor took Carly's laptop and started typing.

"Here...They stopped searching for her, just giving up on her because she was a dancer. They didn't give a shit about who she was as a person, just the status of being a dancer…It wasn't like she had sex with every damn patron that came into the club, it wasn't _that _dirty. I'm pretty sure they still have a 'no sex' policy, right?" Carly chuckled nervously and tucked her hair behind her ear. Taylor was right, they didn't want their dancers having sex with anyone, she had a stern talking to from the owner after the last night, but the transgression had been forgiven when told the man was a gang member and he pounced onto her.

"Yeah, that rule's still in place…I got in a bit of trouble because of that gang member. It was forgiven, though."

"Understandable. Either way, your mother was listed as missing for ten or so years. Fuck that, they never searched for her." Taylor turned the computer back and Carly's eyes first fell onto a picture of her mother holding the hand of a seven year old child. Her eyebrows rose up and she slowly read the headline.

_Famous Diva spotted with young son on the streets of Yakima_

"They didn't help her?" Taylor shook her head sadly and clenched her hands. That picture was a cryptic one. Jessie knew her picture was being taken. Spencer was pointing off at the distance, tugging at his mother's hand, but Jessie was looking at whoever was taking her photo. Her eyes were filled with terror and pleading, she wanted that person to save her, to get her off the streets, so why wouldn't they help her?

"The police just ignored it!" Carly listened to Taylor speak, but she didn't _hear_ the older woman. She saw bruises on her mother's arms, along with cuts and scrapes. Her eye was blackened and her hair was a bit scraggly. Even Spencer looked weak, his arms were covered with blemishes.

"They just beat her…"

"The gang leader that took her was her 'pimp', I think. They put her into prostitution and beat her regularly. The only report on her was when that man took her away from the gang, a big no-no."

"It was?" Taylor closed her eyes and slowly nodded. How _was_ the right way to go about saving a prostitute from their pimp? She was curious. "How do you get a prostitute back? Save them?"

"There are a couple ways." Taylor lifted her fist up and started moving her fingers as she counted off the ways. "First, you can pay the pimp, buying the prostitute. This is risky, because if anyone sees you exchanging money with a pimp, it _can_ have some troubling effects. Secondly, you could _kill_ the pimp." Carly's eyebrows rose and she gently tapped her chin. Killing the pimp, was that really it?

"Wouldn't he have like…a second hand person or something?"

"Yeah but those people don't give a shit about prostitutes. It's just the pimp that cares because he's the manager, the one who controls the cash flow. As for number three, you can cripple the gang by taking out several of their members. Such as, if the law enforcement raided the gang and arrested or killed several, they could take a prostitute to safety and the gang would be more concerned with rebuilding than any way."

"So…it's either money, death, or death?"

"Or arresting. Let me put it to you this way." Carly leaned forward eagerly as Taylor circled her finger on the table. "Here you have the gang, El Niño's. They've been around for a few decades, the early seventies to be precise, but they're still small."

"Right…"

"They're strictly forbidden from the Divas, by the way." Carly raised her eyebrow and stared at Taylor with intrigue. When she spoke of the Niño's, the vein in her neck pulsed out and her body tensed up, could they be the gang that started the fire? She didn't want to ask her and bring up anymore hard memories. She'd have to ask her boss.

"Go on…"

"I don't know their basic structure, but I know they have several stations throughout Washington. They really haven't ever been concerned with building themselves, this is a _weakness_. They're mostly concerned with turning girls into prostitutes for money and controlling the drug trade. If the military were to care enough to come in and they worked hand in hand with Washington's law enforcement…just Seattle's alone would be enough…they could take out the head leaders and their second hand people, thus decapitating the gang and erasing them from existence."

Carly pushed her head forward and widened her eyes astonishingly, she could just imagine something like that taking place. How awesome it would be. "Wow…" She turned her eyes to the article on the computer and frowned. _"Nothing was done for her…Dad found her and took her away, I guess…without paying or taking out the pimp guy…" _She cleared her throat and the cashier looked up as a customer entered the restaurant. "I'm going to do some more research, then I'm going to head out, all right?"

"Okay. And if there's anything you want food-wise, it's on the house." Carly smiled appreciatively as the woman stood up and made her way back to the register. Carly gave a deep sigh and lifted her coffee to her lips.

"This is going to be one hell of a day." She looked into the hazy photo of her mother and gazed into those dark eyes that seemed to pierce right into her soul. It gave her chills just looking at it. "Who were you, mom…"

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><p>Stick around for the next chapter as Carly furthers her investigations.<p> 


	31. Cryptic Warning

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 31 (Cryptic Warning)<p>

10:00 AM, Carly drove to _Divas_ and parked in the back parking lot. As she exited the car, she scanned the area with her eyes. They were normally closed to patrons at this hour, but all the employees, management, and the owner could freely come and go. She'd already made sure to contact Bridget and the current owner, Adam. They were going to meet her here. She spotted Bridget's blue minivan, as well as Adam's red convertible. She smirked slightly and closed her eyes, they beat her here. She actually requested Adam bring his dad along, since that man would likely know more about what she wanted to know than he would. He said he'd try to bring him along. His father was Paul Lucas, he was about sixty years old and had given the club over to his son just three years ago.

She closed her door and made her way to the employee entrance, the door was cracked open, signaling the others as being inside. She specified that she wanted to know about the club's darker, blood littered past, and Paul hesitantly agreed. He chose to talk about it because she revealed who her mother had been. Paul had a soft spot for the woman and that was the clincher. She carefully opened the door and smiled as her eyes drifted to a woman with short reddish brown hair barely hitting her shoulders. She had a slightly freckled, round face and a thin, yet broad build. She was talking to a man with thick brown hair and a thin moustache.

"Hey Bridget, hi Adam!" The two looked to her and smiled as they walked over to her and hugged her.

"Dad's in the main office, Carly." She looked to Adam and nodded as the three made their way to the office. When they entered, they saw a bespeckled man with wavy, grey hair sitting at the desk. His legs were propped up on the desk and he was leaning back in the brown leather chair. Adam walked over to the man and smiled politely. "All right Dad, we're all here."

"Good." Paul straightened himself up and moved his feet to the ground. He positioned his hands together and rested them on his stomach as he reclined partially in the swivel chair. "So Carly…Adam said you found some articles regarding your mother…Jessie?"

"Yeah…" She placed a small stack of papers in front of him on the desk, she had stopped by a library to print them off. Paul leaned forward and grabbed the papers off, scanning them with hazy eyes. Bridget stepped next to Carly while Adam gazed at the articles. He'd been too young to remember any of this. His mother, Carrie, was only twenty two when she died, he was born in 1972, so he barely even knew his mother.

"You're lucky, Carly." Carly raised her eyebrow as Adam gave her a look with sad eyes. "Well I don't know how lucky. How old did you say you were when your mother died? Five?" Carly nodded and he shut his eyes, breathing calmly through his nose. "I was three, I hardly even knew my mom. Do you remember anything about your mom?"

"No…I was too young. All I remember of her was she was a loving mother, always protecting her young." Paul chuckled as he wiped away a small tear. Jessie had been such a great friend to Carrie and her family. He looked at Carly through the tips of his glasses and hummed once.

"That sounds like Jessie. You know, you look just like your her." Carly beamed with pride as Paul set the articles down. He'd just seen the one with the photo of Jessie with Spencer, it disturbed him greatly. He knew Carrie would never have allowed anyone to inflict those wounds onto poor Jessie. Had she been alive, Jessie would _never_ have been taken by that gang. "You've already made some great friends here, and I'm told that you and Bridget make a friendship that envies that of Carrie and your mother's friendship." Carly and Bridget smiled brightly and held each other's hand.

"She's the first person I met here, so I figure why not strike up a friendship? She helps me to stay comfortable…"

"Right, a lot like Carrie did when your mom started here."

"Mom was the youngest worker, wasn't she?" Paul slowly nodded his head and folded his arms over his chest. He remembered everything about her, he was often around whenever she and Carrie were together.

"Your mom was scared and running away from her family, she sought solace with my grandfather, Eric. Carrie was one of the first in the line-up of dancers, just nineteen at the time. She was the one to befriend her the quickest and let her know things would be just fine. There was a strict 'no sex' policy we enforced back then, so she was pretty safe as far as that was concerned. Speaking of which, Carly…What's this I hear about you having sex in the private room?" Bridget stepped up to defend Carly, she knew what happened was a mistake beyond Carly's control.

"It was a gang member from El Niño's, she didn't know. He jumped her and she knew that fighting him off might be trouble…don't blame her for that, it's not her fault. She didn't know." Paul lifted his hand up and slowly nodded his head, he understood just fine. He met Carly's eyes and breathed out softly.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that, and with an El Nino, no less." His face twisted with anger when he mentioned the gang. Carly took note of the mention and he slowly shook his head. "The gang that walked in here that night, the one with the fewer men, they were the El Niño's. They were just starting up that year and like today, they were with few members. However their leader was ruthless, he survived that brutal attack, taking out the leader of the other gang. He shot my Carrie and kidnapped your mother…" His hands tensed up and Adam gently placed his hand to his father's shoulder.

"Dad, relax." Paul closed his eyes and leaned back, breathing easy, trying to get his pulse rate back to normal pace.

"I'm okay."

"You know pops, I'm interested in learning more about Divas past." Paul raised his eyebrow and cleared his throat. "I know it's been something of a taboo that nobody was ever allowed to talk about, but…it's just another one of those intriguing mysteries that can't be helped. You know how I like those mystery novels." The patriarch laughed and placed his hands to rest on the desk.

"Yes son, I know…I'll tell you. After the great fire, we had to rebuild and relocate. We kept the modeling and structure the same for respect of my grandfather, Carrie, Regina, and Jessie. We lost four greats that day…Regina was our best waitress, while Carrie and Jessie were the heart and soul of this place." Carly's face softened and she sat on the corner of the desk.

"I heard. I met Taylor at McDonalds earlier this morning." Paul blinked for a moment, trying to recall a Taylor. He gasped lightly and smiled.

"Ah, you mean Sparkle. Taylor 'Sparkle' Mcdaniels. She was a nice woman, but after the fire she quit her job and moved on with her life. She couldn't take the memory. It was hard on us all. After that, we only had one dancer and three waitresses left, so we not only had to rebuild, we had to start getting more workers. I guess that's what got us to where we are today…I know Taylor did help recruit."

"She did seem really troubled by the whole thing. I guess everyone would be haunted. She expressed the same hatred for that one gang…I'm guessing that man that came in here last night-"

"He was put on a permanent ban list," Adam said quickly. It was protocol for any member of a gang to be put on a watch list. "All Niño's know better than to come here, so I'm guessing he was from another city."

"Seattle, he said he met my friend Sam, but she wouldn't go with him…I saw a news report this morning that said Sam was safe somewhere, but her dad wouldn't reveal where she was. He's a police Lieutenant." Bridget pressed her lips together while Adam whistled, such a close call. Paul leaned back and smiled warily.

"She's a lucky girl then, those Niño's have no sense of respect for women. It's a tough world…I wouldn't know much else about them, but anyone from their gang would know exactly how they operate. Your mother got caught up with them when they took her, so I'm going to warn you…Stay _away_ from El Niño. Once they've set their sights on you…it's over…"

Could his tone be any firmer? Carly didn't think so. His words struck her heart deeply as he pointed his finger towards her. Sure the Niño's were not as prominent as the other gangs around, but as far as prostitution and drug trade went, they were _horrible_ to women. That was a reoccurring factor.

"Just…why wouldn't the police do anything." This time Bridget answered, she knew well from her mother. Her mom had been part of the legal system and she had explained that very thing to her a long time ago.

"Back then, they saw a woman who was a dancer in a strip club, or a prostitute on the street, and they turned away. They just didn't care. They saw the gangs and they stayed away, not wanting to get involved. They always seemed to have other matters that were more important. They saw your mom and her son on the street and they did _nothing_. How did she die?"

"Dad told me…" Paul braced himself for a potentially devastating answer. He knew there wasn't going to be a simple answer, such as disease or car accident, it would most likely be gang related. Carly closed her eyes and turned her head slightly to the side. "She was murdered by her 'pimp'. I have no idea who that would be…but Dad apparently just took her, he didn't bother to do _anything_ that would have prevented that man from going after her." Adam bowed his head mournfully and Bridget pulled Carly into a hug. Such a horrible fate, nobody deserved that.

"Carly…" Paul's expression grew serious as his face darkened and his hands tensed up. He saw only one explanation now, if this was the case. It wasn't simply over, it couldn't have been over. Spencer may have been untouchable, or the Niño's didn't care about him because he was a fully grown male and as far as Carly said, a lawyer now. "I think the Niño's are following you…"

"Following me? Why?"

"I don't know. Revenge, maybe? Maybe a sort of collection? That man, the man that became her 'pimp', is now the statewide leader of the Niño's." Carly's eyes widened and whatever color had been in her drained completely. She thought about the appearances of the Niño gang member and wondered if it was truly coincidental. "Now what did you say was the full name of that manager of yours?"

"Douglas Gregory Madison…" Bridget raised her eyebrow and looked over at Adam with a curious glance. Carly felt the air around her starting to grow tens and cold as she stared at Paul. He clicked his tongue lightly and folded his hands on the desk in front of him. He pushed himself back slightly and met Carly's frozen, nervous stare.

"Rafael Madison has three sons. His eldest is the second choice to take over in the event of his death. His middle son is involved heavily in the gang, respects his boundaries I think, and is a leader stationed somewhere. His youngest son is not as involved with El Niño's, but has ties and will _possibly_ do as his father or brothers tell him, if it is in his plans, or he will do whatever the fuck he feels like…He's currently involved in the internet porn business, sending _some _of that money in to the Niño's."

"Sir, you can't…be serious…"

"I'm surprised Douglas dumped you, to be honest." Paul stood from his seat and the three watched as he calmly walked over to a picture hanging upon the wall. It was of Rafael and his three sons. "I made it a goal of mine after losing Carrie and Jessie to those fucking bastards to find out everything I can about that gang. I want to shut them down one day, but I don't know that I have the manpower to do so…" Carly's eyes moved to the picture and froze on it, she had never met Doug's family before. "Douglas G. Madison is also the most separated from the gang, he won't follow the orders unless it's his father's orders. Chances are, if he were to be after your friend, Sam, he won't bother sending the gang after her. He's just not that concerned with gang activities."

"You're telling me…my ex boyfriend…"

"Being brutally honest here, please don't take this the wrong way…" Paul turned to face her, holding his wrists together behind his back and gazing sternly at her. She felt his gaze and started trembling with anxiety. "If he actually didn't give a flying fuck about you, he would _not_ have dumped you and would have handed you over to the gang." She gasped and shook her head, afraid of what he might say next. She could see what was coming, and she didn't like it. "Then this random gang member finds Sam? Wants to recruit her? Shows up here just last night? You think it's all coincidental? If that gang member didn't go for Sam when she refused, that means he doesn't care about her, she's in the clear…"

"But…I feel like there's a 'but' there, isn't there?"

"I'm afraid so, Carly." He closed his eyes and Bridget grasped her friend's arm protectively. "By getting involved with Douglas, his father must have recognized you as Jessie's daughter. It's likely his father wanted Douglas to bring you into the gang, forcing you into prostitution…subjecting you to that harsher lifestyle, a lifestyle that you've probably never experienced."

"The guy ignored Sam? Why do you think?"

"Maybe it was just that they didn't care about her. Maybe it was the guy seeing her along the side of the road and thinking about picking her up. Who knows. All we know is that a crony of the Niño's came here last night and well…you all know the story."

"He…he fucked me…." She whispered her words under her breath, so as nobody could hear the pain in her voice. It was there, however, and at least Bridget caught it. It was hard to ignore how tense the air around her was in this very minute. So thick, you needed a chainsaw just to slice through it.

"When a prostitute has a daughter, it's a gang member's happiest moment. That gang member most likely wants that girl to grow up into prostitution as well. If Douglas dumped you, meaning he went against his own father's wishes, that would explain how that gang member started showing up. Carly, I can't stress enough how crucial it is that you _stay away_ from these people. Even Douglas, don't be tempted to contact him in _any_ way. He may not take you to them, but by sure they might be watching him. If you were to contact him, if you were to go around him, they might ambush you and take you from him. You understand?"

"Yes sir. I just…I want to find out more about my mom, I want to know everything."

"That's too dangerous, Carly. She was mixed up with them, you don't need to be mixed with them either."

"But…" She really couldn't argue with him, every word he said was right, and she knew it. She knew she should feel like she had the world to lose, but in reality, she didn't. What she had was a father who wanted to come back and get her out of the life of porn. Due to her addiction to sex, she got caught in a mix up with a dangerous gang. She clenched her hands tightly and narrowed her eyes. _"God I am so fucking _stupid_!"_

"No buts. Your father's overseas, right? Shouldn't he be coming home?"

"He wants to apply for early leave…"

"Then you have something to look forward to. Look forward to that. As long as you have him, you have something valuable to you." He knew her father would probably be safe overseas, but if Rafael really had set his sights upon her, then chances were likely he would want further revenge. He was afraid to tell her, but when the leader of a gang wanted to kill a prostitute who escaped, he also wanted to kill the one who helped. Thank god Steven Shay was out of reach. "Be careful as well that these Niño's are crafty sons of bitches. If he really wants to get at you, he'll use anything at his disposal…Your mother learned that the hard way when they killed Carrie before her eyes…" Carly looked to Bridget for a split second and tore her gaze away, she had to wonder if they would possibly go after her?

"I understand. I'll stay far away from these guys." She closed her eyes and growled softly. In her heart, she wanted to plow through them all. She wanted to destroy Rafael, she wanted to destroy that gang, she wanted to tear them all down. "I'm just glad…they don't consider Sam anything important, and she's safe. Though she was the primary source of money for Douglas's internet porn stuff…but that's different from the gang activity, right?"

"Yeah, that's just used for his own shit."

"So she's just at risk of him going after her, the gang has no need for her. Good. She doesn't need all that…"

"Of course not. No one needs that…" The group slowly moved their eyes to that cryptic photo of Jessie and Spencer, each of them felt that chill run down their spines and her eyes bearing deeply into their souls. No. Nobody at all deserved to go through that pain and suffering.

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><p>So Carly learns the hard truth that Douglas perhaps dumped her out of compassion rather than being cold-hearted. Stick around, the next chapter is going to be awesomely action packed, as will the chapter after that ^_^.<p> 


	32. King of the World

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This chapter portrays another song by Porcelain and the Tramps, it is called King of the World. I chose this because it so perfectly fits the person it belongs to.

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><p>Chapter 32 (King of the World)<p>

"You stiffed me." A cold smirk filled a tan, oval face. Black eyes flashed over several bills as a young man with dark hair combed back bore his eyes into one of the clients on the bed. A person agreed to shoot a video with one of the girls, agreeing to pay her manager five hundred, he paid him only four hundred and fifty, hoping he wouldn't catch the extra fifty that was missing. The girl lying naked on the bed looked up with fear in her eyes at the man she'd just slept with. He should know better than to stiff Douglas Madison. She swung her red hair over her shoulders and pulled her blanket up to cover her breasts. "Where's my fifty?"

"I-I'm sorry, I know I didn't pay the full amount. It's just that my wallet's empty, I only have four fifty right now, I can run home and get the other fifty." Douglas groaned and tilted his head back, growling with anger. Though his profession had little to do with his father's shit, he still had to pay ten percent of anything he made to his father. Sure, it wasn't much, but it all added up.

"Tell me…" He ran his hand through his thick brown hair and breathed out slowly. The girl closed her eyes and the man started to look around nervously, pondering whatever would happen next. "Do you_ know_ who I am?" He was so frustrated, so angry, so stressed out, it just wasn't funny. He didn't have time for puny games. And just why was he frustrated? He had to dump the girl he loved and act like a cold son of a bitch, he was getting tired of having to do some shit of a life because it sent money to the gang, there were a variety of reasons. "You know I can just call my father up, or one of my brothers, and talk to them about a poor client. I don't like to have to do that, you know. I don't _like_ to have to talk to them. Yet, this is all purely a business deal."

He edged closer to the man, glaring fire into his eyes. This man, muscular as he was, was frightened of the look in Douglas's eyes. He ran his hand over his bald head and smiled nervously as Douglas gripped his shirt leaned in closely. "I am the fucking king, and I _will_ get my money. You do not stiff me!" The man screamed as Douglas shoved him against the floor. The man's head went backwards and crashed hard against the end table. The girl let out a loud scream and Douglas's gaze fell upon her with a sneer.

_My pain filled drama queen is always screaming at your bed  
>Getting ready to buy you out<br>'Cause we all know  
>What goes around comes around<br>You should've known what I was all about  
>Do not test me<em>

"I swear to fuck this life's getting old." Douglas reached into his pocket and pulled a cigarette and lighter from it. The girl watched as he placed the cigarette in his mouth, cupped his hand over the lighter, and lit the flame. He put two fingers around the cigarette and pulled it from his lips, moving it down to his side as he puffed the smoke from his lips. Why did he smoke? He hated smoking, it did not do his body well. It wasn't like he made a habit of it, either, he smoked maybe one cigarette a _week_.

The man looked up from the ground, blood dripping down the side of his head. Douglas narrowed his eyes at the man and reached down into the man's chest pocket. He grasped the wallet and pulled it out, the man shouted and grabbed his chest and swallowed hard as Douglas opened the brown leather wallet. "Hey!"

"You know. I don't like liars...what does this look like, cue ball?" The man begun to sweat as he watched Douglas pull a hundred and fifty dollars from the man's wallet. "You have another one fifty. What's this for? Gift for the wife? Maybe some hard liquor at the bar? Well…" He chuckled and pushed his cigarette back into his lips, then pushed the hundred dollar bill into his pocket. "I'll be keeping the Benjamin."

"Please, I need that money! My wife was expecting me to contribute it to the rent!" Douglas tapped his chin and moved his eyes to the side, thinking heavily on what he should do.

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to stiff me of fifty bucks. Now I'm one hundred dollars richer and you, my god sir, are out one fifty." The man gasped as Douglas lit the lighter once more and lit the bill on fire.

"No!" He reached out helplessly and screamed as the ashes of the bill fell onto the floor in front of him. Douglas flashed his teeth and folded his arms over his chest.

"You got money to burn if you're willing to have sex and put it online, it's not my fault. It's _yours_. Thank you for your services. Come on Camilla, let's get moving." The woman nodded and quickly left the room. The man fell forward and stared at the ashes as Douglas stepped into the doorway. He removed his cigarette and turned his gaze over his left shoulder. "Oh, and sir?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Don't _ever_ try and test me to see if I'll notice you trying to hide money in your wallet. I've seen just about every fucking trick known to man." He smirked and flung his still burning cigarette onto the floor in front of the man, then casually left the home.

_'Cause I'm the fucking king of the world  
>Get on your knees<br>I'm the fucking king of the world  
>Do as I please<em>

Camilla entered the passenger seat of his jet black El Camino. He entered the driver's side and sped off. He breathed out and narrowed his eyes as he turned the corner. Camilla looked into his eyes and frowned, he was so filled with rage and hatred. She didn't understand. "Douglas, can I ask you something?" He let out a grunt and moved his eyes over to her. "Why were you so focused on Sam, yet you were dating Carly, then you dumped her, why?" He huffed and moved his eyes back to the road in front of him.

"Sam's vital to the porn industry, she was the girl with the highest revenue. Brothers wanted her to remain a source of money. That's about it." Camilla lifted her eyebrows up and turned her eyes to the road in front of her. She didn't care if he chose favorites or not, it was only curiosity to her.

"Okay, but what about your dad? Didn't dumping Carly create problems for him?" Douglas's face hardened for a split second. His dad, his brothers, wanted Carly to become a prostitute, he wanted to try and get her since her mother died several years ago. If it hadn't been for him, Rafael would never have even realized who Carly was. It was his fault. He knew how his father's gang treated women. Sure, he treated women poorly too, but he wasn't as ruthless or vile as his father's gang.

"You let me handle my father and brothers. Compared to them, I'm a fucking angel." Camilla's eyes widened for a split second and she turned her gaze away. "Besides, the only one in control of _my_ life and the people I either know or don't know, is myself. Nobody else. Not my father, not my brothers, not the fucking Niño's gang. _I am in control."_

_So get up and get out and I'll show you  
>What it means for me to control you<br>'Cause I'm the fucking king of the world_

Keep your head down  
>Untill I tell you to speak<br>You're not giving me the run around  
>When you fall back<br>Unto my coffin  
>No you should've stayed out of my way<br>Do not test me

He parked his car in front of Camilla's home and narrowed his eyes, gripping the steering wheel firmly. "Get out." She did not hesitate to flee the car and scurry to her front door. Douglas looked to the rearview mirror and smirked as he spotted a beige sedan parked behind a pair of trees at the far end of the streets. "So you've found me…all right, I'll give. Let's play a little game. My rule, fuckers. Keep up."

He slammed his foot on the gas pedal and sped down the road. The drivers of the car yelped and sprang into action, speeding after him. Another car came spitting fire from the other corner. He laughed at the two brown sedans and charged up onto a freeway. He was already barreling through the cars and watching the sedans trying to swerve. He laughed and slammed his hand on the horn.

"¡Hombre! ¡Van más rápidamente, los idiotas! Usted es tan el coger lento. ¡Si usted pierde el juego, le mataré!" He craved the speed. He couldn't help it if Carly softened him up just a bit, it wasn't his fault. Ever since he broke his father's orders to hand her over, thugs had been following him everywhere. Well that would end.

_'Cause I'm the fucking king of the world  
>Get on you knees<br>I'm the fucking king of the world  
>Do as I pleace<em>

He laughed and glanced at his speedometer, clocking the speed at 110 MPH. Those sedans would be spinning out any minute now. The other cars on the freeway blasted their horns and swerved out of the way, trying desperately not to crash. Yet, he avoided them with great skill.

He distinguished the two brown sedans from the fact that one of the sedans had a black stripe on the hood and a flaming design on the sides. The owner was trying so desperately to look cool, and yet, failing miserably.

He reached down and flipped the window button, rolling it down as the fiery sedan pulled up alongside him. In the passenger seat was a dark skinned Hispanic man with a black bandana and springy muscles. Douglas glanced at him and tilted his head to the side. "Pull over, Hombre!"

"What the fuck? You crazy, man! No way in hell I'm pulling over for you!"

_So get up and get out and I'll show you  
>What it means for me to control you<br>'Cause I'm the fucking king of the world_

He slammed his gas pedal down and started to increase in speed, hearing the gangster in the other car shout a profanity out at him. He laughed and held his arm out the window, flipping off the driver and passenger. "My rules, my domain motherfucker!" At that, a bullet ricocheted off the side of his door. He winced and yelled out a profanity. "That's my car, I just had this thing waxed, hijo loco-de-a-perra!"

The sedan increased its speed and pulled up to Douglas. The gang member scowled and pointed his .38 caliber pistol at Douglas. "We're under orders! Pull over now!"

"Don't you know who I am, pequeno martillo?" The man's face grew red and he pulled the cock on the gun. "I'm the king, you're in my country now, loco!" Douglas and the sedans took an exit that curved sharply over a large body of water. He laughed and turned his steering wheel towards the sedan, as the curve was on their side. The gang members were struck with fear as he crashed into them.

_Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me _

"What are you doing, hibrido!" The sedan behind them slowed up for the curve, keeping in mind that they really did not want to smash through the concrete and into the lake.

Douglas's window was smashed up against the gang members, so he gracefully reached over and took the gun from the man's hand before separating momentarily. "I'll take that." The gangster screeched as Douglas twisted his head back and aimed the gun for the fire sedan's right rear tire. "Adios perras." The men shouted as Douglas fired a gunshot into the tire. The driver tried to swerve, but the nose of his car moved inwards, causing another vehicle to slam into them and send them rolling through the cement wall and off the curved exit, spiraling into a watery explosion that would soon become their grave.

_[Scream]_

Get on you knees  
>'Cause I'm the fucking king of the world<br>Do as I please

He put his hand to his ear when they screamed and grinned with satisfaction as he whipped his hand onto the wheel. One sedan down, one more to go. He merged into the new freeway and stared in the mirror at the sedan now trying to catch up with him. Didn't they learn from their friends?

His eyebrows rose as a bullet pierced the back windshield and flew through the front, clearly these bastards meant business. They sped up and started pushing into his rear bumper. Growling, he reached back with the gun and fired a shot into their car, causing them to back off.

They were being smart about it and not getting on the sides like he wanted them to, so he couldn't very easily run them off the road. As his eyes scanned the cars ahead of him fleeing off to the sides, he had to wonder where the police were in all of this. Clearly none of them were on the freeway, or at least, none were bothering with him.

"Not going to get me…but it's time to get off this damn freeway, my exit's coming up."

_So get up and get out and I'll show you  
>What it means for me to control you<em>

'Cause I'm the fucking king, fucking king of the world  
>Do as I please<p>

He grinned widely as he continued to speed up, acting as though he were going to drive right past his exit. The sedan behind him was buying into it, believing him. God he was good. Just at the end of the exit, he swerved onto it, causing a car that was going on there to jerk into the shoulder of the road. Looking into his rearview mirror, he saw the sedan drive past the exit and swerve, forming an arc in the freeway, which ended partially in the shoulder.

_I'm the fucking king, fucking king of the world  
>Get on you knees <em>

As they tried to start up, a van nearly smashed into them, but they managed to escape injury and drive down the long hill to the side road that Douglas was going on. He groaned and rolled his eyes as he continued onwards and ran a stoplight. The sedan tore through the stoplight as well, almost creating a collision. He was determined to shake them, though.

Another barrage of bullets were unloaded onto his car and he smashed his fist into his wheel with anger. He didn't want to have to get _another _paint job, he just couldn't afford it. "Shit…" He moved his eyes to his pistol and clenched his teeth together. "Fuck this gun, I should have something better in my backseat."

_I'm the fucking king, the fucking king of the world, yeah  
>(Fucking king of the world)<em>

He reached back with his hand and felt a round object in the pocket of his chair. Smirking, he narrowed his eyes and pulled the object from the chair and pulled over to the side of the road, slowing to a stop. The sedan followed suit, slowing to a halt behind him.

This was his opportunity while they were distracted with shutting off their car. He slowly opened his door, stuck his right foot out onto the floor and dropped the round object onto the ground, pulling out the pin. Could he help it that one of his girls screwed a soldier last week who was dumb enough to carry his weapons with him?

Unbeknownst to the men, he kicked the object across the ground, grinning as it came to rest beneath them. The men started to get out of their car, so he promptly returned to his seat, closed the door and sped off. The men looked at each other, baffled and returned to their vehicle.

Douglas smirked and pressed the power button as the sun glistened onto his teeth. It was not long before the sky lit up in beautiful orange and red. He moved his eyes to the rearview mirror and saw the metal car rocketing into the air, flames were spilling from the windows and a large hole was on the bottom of the vehicle.

"I told you, don't fuck with me. Guess you just couldn't keep up." He ran his hand smoothly through his hair and started to drive off, feeling quite literally as the king of the world.

_Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<br>Bow to me  
>Bow to me at my feet you'll bow to me<em>

As he drove, a leisurely pace, he passed the home of Jonah and Valerie. He stopped briskly and stared into their window, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Sam was peering through the curtains. She froze when she met his gaze, held his eyes for a second, then quickly shut the curtains. He shrugged and looked straight ahead.

"Think I don't know how it feels to try and avoid a life people try to get you in? My brothers always say of me, you can't stay away forever. I promise that my father and his gang don't give a shit about you…"

He lifted his eyes up momentarily, thinking of Carly, then returned his attention to the road before driving off. Sam wasn't like Carly, his dad didn't want her. He wanted Carly to become the gang's number one prostitute, but he was pissed that Douglas dumped her.

"Sorry dad, looks like I'm just always pissing you off."

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><p>Next chapter will be <em>very<em> action packed and thrilling. We'll see the source of Douglas's anger, hatred, and pains: His brothers Alonzo and Raul, as well as the one person that is going to become a major pain in the ass for the remainder of the story (Yes you've seen him already): Carlos. You will enjoy what Douglas does to Carlos XD. Stick around!


	33. Brotherly Warfare

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 33 (Brotherly Warfare)<p>

Douglas entered his home and instantly noticed a disarray, something that had given him a sinking feeling in his gut. When he was unlocking the door, his window had been open just slightly, as though someone didn't close it all the way. He slowly closed his door and twitched his nose, an action he often did when he sensed trouble. As he made his way towards the kitchen, he heard what sounded like someone setting a glass down on the table.

"You've gone soft, mi Hermano." Douglas froze and his eyes started to enlarge. The voice belonged to his oldest brother, Alonzo. He narrowed his eyes as Alonzo stood up from his seat and walked up behind him. He was wearing a gray hoodie sweater with a skull emblem on the center. "You're still resourceful though, aren't you? Crafty?"

"Where is Raul? I assume he's around here somewhere?"

"Oh he is." Douglas heard a crash coming from his living room, a sound of glass shattering and wood slamming against the wall. His eyes widened and he spun around to face his brother and the kitchen doorway. His middle brother, Raul, walked in with a large picture in his hand. Alonzo took a look at it and laughed, instantly recognizing Carly. "Don't tell me. You had a _framed photo_ of her? Oh my god, you fell in love with her? You fucking moron! No wonder you refused us all..." He placed his hand to his stomach and laughed wildly. Douglas narrowed his eyes and growled spitefully at his two brothers. They weren't the traditional family, the two loathed him and he loathed them. Sure, he wanted to have brothers who cared about him, not ones who wanted him dead. Those two would do anything to get whatever they wanted, even going so far as to working with that Papperman kid years and years ago.

Raul shoved Douglas, causing him to crash back into the counter. "You had one order, to make the Shay girl fall in love with you so she could meet your family, then we'd put her into-"

"I_ know_ what my orders were!" He wasn't going to put his girlfriend through all that. Just simply being a porn star was enough, and when all that drama began, he just knew she couldn't handle what would be worse. "Why _Carly_, though?"

"I don't know, Dad's pretty fucking serious when he says he wants something. When he wants something, he's going to _get_ what he wants. You hear, ese?" Raul delivered a swift blow to Douglas's abdomen, causing him to buckle over. With the painful blow, he clenched his teeth and looked up in time for Alonzo to hit him with a backhanded slap to the left side of his face. The two men grabbed his arms and lifted him from the ground. He shouted painfully and threw him into the living room.

"You fucking bastards, are you trying to kill me?" Alonzo smirked and slammed his fist into his hand as Raul started to reach under his sweater, grabbing the knife. He dashed forward and brought it down upon Douglas, but Doug rolled out of the way and kicked his brother's leg from under him. Raul crashed onto the ground and moaned as Douglas shot up. "You _are _trying to kill me!" Alonzo held his hand up and Raul slowly rose to his feet, gripping the blade tightly in his hand. Douglas folded his arms over and narrowed his eyes. "I doubt dad would sanction my death."

"Oh he didn't, pequeño. Besides, we're just weakening you for the kid." Douglas raised his eyebrow and twisted his body around at the sound of a light footfall. He narrowed his eyes as a skinny Hispanic man with a red bandana and tattoo on his arm stepped into the room. He growled softly and clenched his hands up. To his brothers' amazement, he'd actually heard the guy enter. "Your hearing has always astounded us, brother. You must take after your mother, no wonder you're dad's favorite."

"Is that why you're putting this hit on me?"

"Not in so many words…" He knew his dad well enough to know this wasn't what Rafael wanted, he always wanted to _prevent_ bloodshed between the three brothers. They each came from different mothers, all prostitutes, so it was understandable that there'd be fighting amongst them. He wiped his mouth and cracked his neck to the side. It was the fact that their mothers were prostitutes that he detested the act of forcing people into such a life.

"Well dad did always say if one of us attacked the other in malice, it was sanctioned for the other brother to protect himself and kill the others. Alonzo, Raul, you two are making a grave mistake. Oh, and Carly's off limits too. Sorry, neither you, or dad, will get your grimy little mitts on her!" Douglas started to attack the brother nearest him, but the skinny guy quickly dashed in front of him and kicked him square in the chest. Winded, he did a back-flip and coughed. "Stay out of this, this is not between me and you, _ese_! This is between me and my brothers!"

"My name is _Carlos_, and I understand this is with them."

"So stay out of it!" Douglas waved his hand in the air, the vein in his neck was popping out and his eyes were slanted in rage. Alonzo smirked and tapped his lips with his index finger while Raul sat against a coffee table. "If you want to live, Carlos, don't piss me off and stay the fuck out of my way."

"I can't do that, you see, there are two things that make this between you and me." Douglas raised his eyebrow as a sick grin grew onto Carlos's face. "Well three, if you count me crossing that blonde chick, but she wouldn't come along with me so I left her."

"Sam? She's got nothing to do with this. Leave her be." Alonzo rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head. He never did understand the business that Douglas did, it was almost like child's play. Granted, they used it to leech money for the gang, so in reality, they were forcing him to continue it.

"Whatever, she's not important to El Niño's. We're here to discuss Carly."

"Speaking of whom…" Carlos grinned widely and Douglas snapped his head into his general direction. "First reason this becomes between us…" Carlos reached into his crotch region and slowly pulled out a black handgun. "I'm with your brothers and I can't let you touch them. Secondly…" He licked his lips as a sadist would and rolled his head to the side. "Carly Shay is a beautiful lay."

"What?" Suddenly, rage began shooting through his veins as he clenched his hand tightly. He knew Carly had been with several people, that never bothered him, but if one of these men dared to get their dirty hands on her, that was not allowed! "You-"

"Fucked her in the private room of a strip club? Why yes I did." Douglas's face began to turn red and his glare became dangerously explosive. His brothes started to pale, but quickly brushed off what they'd just heard. Hopefully Carlos wouldn't bring it up too much, it could work against them in killing Douglas. "Don't worry, she consented and I was pulled away from her before I could finish." Carlos grinned and slowly licked his lips, sending a disgusting chill which caused Doug's blood to run cold. "You should have heard her moan. She didn't like when I started getting rougher, but at first, oh such a hea-"

"Shut up! I'm going to kill you!" Douglas charged Carlos, slamming him against the side wall and slamming his right arm into his neck. He clenched his left hand and crashed his fist into the man's stomach, delivering multiple severe blows, the anger he lashed out only seemed to increase with each hit. "You're fucking _dead! _You pissed off the wrong man!"

"E-Easy hombre, easy!" Carlos started gasping for air, but breathing was starting to become difficult as the pain vibrated through his internal organs and Doug's arm started crushing into his neck. He hadn't planned for the man's explosive anger, never once had he considered how volatile Douglas would be when it came to being protective. Alonzo and Raul, seeing the danger, quickly pulled Douglas off of Carlos and slammed his back up against a wall, holding his arms tightly in place.

"You fucking half breed, you think you can handle El Niño's's!" Alonzo shouted in Douglas's face. Saliva spewed from his mouth and sprayed Douglas. "You're not even a genuine Hispanic and yet you act like one. I got news for you, just because dad screwed your mother and got her pregnant, _doesn't_ mean that we're brothers! It doesn't mean we're going to give a shit about you or whatever chick you pull off the goddamn streets! Dad gave you one _simple_ order, and that was to take that fucking bitch to him, and you defied him!" Douglas stared into his brother's eyes and his face slowly hardened. Always these two siblings that hated him. Why? What had he ever done to them?

"Get off me!" Douglas broke his arm free and curled his arm, slamming his elbow up into Alonzo's jaw. Alonzo shouted and stumbled backwards, trying to readjust his vision. Suddenly a searing pain shot out from his left side. Raul just stabbed him! He growled and lifted his knee up, slamming it into Raul's groin and sending the man crashing to the ground. "I don't care what your reasoning is, I don't give a _shit_ what you want, there was no way in fucking _hell_ that I was going to hand her over to El Niño's! No fucking way, hombre! And as for being full blooded or not, who gives a shit? You're the one always making a big deal out of my mother being white." Douglas placed his hand to where Raul cut him and felt the blood seeping over his fingers. He breathed in and turned his attention to the bedroom door, he had some gauze pads and whatnot that would help this for now, but he needed to get away from these guys.

Alonzo growled and wiped his mouth with his arm, leaving a long trail of blood. He narrowed his eyes and played his tongue against the busted part of his lip. "That's it. You're through…Raul, Carlos, _kill him!_"

"Okay, let's settle this then. Come on!" Raul and Carlos screamed out and charged him. He knelt down and stuck his arms out to the side, letting the two crash their waists into his arms while he pushed forward. The two men toppled onto their backs as Douglas rose up and delivered a crushing uppercut towards Alonzo's jaw. "You just made the worst mistake of your life, Alonzo. It'll be the _last_ mistake you ever made. Usted un hombre muerto." Alonzo placed his thumb and forefinger on the sides of his jaw and moved his eyes venomously to Douglas. "You know our father's rule. If one of us strikes our brother, we have every right to take him out."

"You don't have the balls to take our lives, so don't start getting cocky, bobo." Alonzo charged him and Douglas put his strong foot forward, then grabbed up for Alonzo's hands, pushing him back as he pushed him. Douglas strained and kept his eyes locked onto his bedroom door. He groaned and spoke in a firm, yet strained voice.

"Try me, concha!" Alonzo bared his teeth and started to dig his nails into the skin of Douglas's hands.

"Como Chingas…"

"No that's you. Cual es tu pinche pedo? Did you not get enough lovin' from your mother when you were a babe?" Alonzo's eyebrows rose and Douglas delivered a swift blow to his chest. He gasped for air and moved back as Douglas proceeded to kick him below the waist. Screaming in pain, he fell onto the ground and started rolling in place, tears of pain streamed out from his eyes. Douglas breathed heavily and looked at his red bloody knuckles for a brief moment. "You stay there puta. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Douglas kicked Alonzo in the sternum and made a mad dash into his bedroom. He slammed the door shut, locked it, and quickly moved his dresser in front of it. "That should hold them long enough if they get up…"

He placed his hand to his wounded side and groaned as the warm blood ran once more over his hand. Thinking fast, he dashed into the bathroom, shut and locked that door, and immediately grabbed open the medicine cabinet above the toilet. He gripped his shirt and tore it off, breathing in sharply as the shirt scraped over his wound. His next step was grabbing the gauze pad and a bandage wrap from the cabinet, along with medical tape. He set it on the bathroom counter, propped his foot up on the bathtub and took the shower hose from the wall.

As he turned on the water and started drenching his bloodied side, he could hear his brothers slamming the bedroom door. "Hey puta, don't break my door, I don't want to have to get it replaced!" He threw the shower head into the tub and quickly taped the gauze pad onto his wounded side. Next, took the wrap and started wrapping it around his hands, tore the ends with his teeth, and taped the ends to the wrapping on his palm. Now that his brothers attacked him and he knew there was one thing left for him to do, he knew well that his father and the gang would cover up their deaths for him. Carlos, if he survived, which Douglas didn't plan on, would have ways placed upon him to keep him from talking.

Douglas smirked with confidence as he turned from the bathroom sink and towards the door. He had been studying medicine, so he knew the body well. Martial arts was a great skill to learn. Now which major parts of their bodies did he want to crush first?

He reached in between the bathroom counter and toilet, grabbing the metal baseball bat he had stowed in case something like this actually did occur. He just never thought he'd have to deal with his own brothers. Jealousy could really run thick, and it was ugly as hell.

He crept to the wall, pressing his back against it as he slowly cracked the door and peered through it at the bedroom door. Soon enough the bedroom door opened, but stalled on the dresser. "Come on Douchebag, let us in!" Raul's voice echoed into the room and the man began kicking the door and dresser rapidly until the dresser fell over and the door swung upon. Douglas moved flat against the back and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. His chest heaved and he closed his eyes, trying his damnedest to think of his next move.

Carlos and Raul made their way into the room and Carlos plopped on the bed. "Hey look! This bed is so comfortable! Think of how _deep_ into Douglas's bitch I could go on a bed like this!" Carlos laughed and Raul rolled his eyes and stared at the door with narrow eyes. Douglas growled lightly, trying hard to ignore that, but it was becoming near impossible. He knew it was a tactic, but a poor one at that.

"Shut up! I think I see him." He spoke with a hushed whisper, so as to not alert Douglas that he may have found him. Raul smirked dangerously and slowly stepped towards the door, swinging his knife gently with his hand. "Come out come out little Douggie, it's time to play with your older brother."

Douglas's anger spiked up at the mention of that nickname, he despised it when his brothers taunted him with that. Why couldn't he have been given a more Hispanic name? Why did it have to be _Douglas_? Raul was mere inches from the door, the only sound he made was the sound of his breath. Carlos remained seated on the bed with a vile smirk.

"So that girl he protects…" Raul turned his head to Carlos and Douglas breathed in slowly. Protecting? Was he protecting her? Maybe he was protecting something more? He didn't see it as protection, he just saw it as keeping her the hell away from these gang members. Prostitution wasn't a good life for her at all, it made porn look like a game of patty cake.. His brothers were surprised because they thought he 'loved' her, and he always seemed so cynical and unbelieving of love. Love had nothing to do with this, at least he thought it didn't, he just wanted to ensure Carly would have a life without the drugs and so forth. "Do you think he'd mind if I fucked her up the ass on a bed like this? Maybe use her to breed children." That did it. No more lying in wait, no more mister nice guy.

"Shut up Carlos, you'll piss-" Raul was jarred from his speech by an adrenaline charged roar, his head snapped to the door just as Douglas charged from it. He had just seconds to act, but failed to do so. He could only watch and cringe with terror as Douglas crashed the bat into his clavicle bone in his shoulder, temporarily severing use of his right arm. Raul screamed and Douglas stepped past him, flattened the bat under his elbow and jammed the flat surface at the end of the handle into Raul's sciatic nerve, located at the lower part of the spine. When the sciatic nerve was hit, it could cause paralysis. As Raul began to fall, Douglas turned around, stepped into batter position and crashed the bat into his head.

"Raul!" Carlos jumped up from the bed as Raul's body flew against the wall like a ragdoll. He froze with fear as Douglas turned and met his eyes, swinging the bat smoothly in the air. He began his ascent towards Carlos, burning the gangster with his fiery, poisonous eyes. "Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

"I'm not done with you." Carlos took a step back as Douglas rushed next to him and slammed the side of his hand into Carlos's neck, knocking him unconscious. As he started to turn around, the bat was suddenly grabbed from his hand. He shouted as he saw Alonzo crash the bat into his bat.

"You fucking asshole! You killed our brother!"

"You shouldn't have broken into my home and you shouldn't have tried to kill me. Besides Alonzo, you're the one who said earlier that we _weren't_ brothers." Douglas narrowed his eyes and pointed his index and middle fingers together. He struck the small round area where Alonzo's neck met the line of his shoulders. Alonzo coughed and gasped for breath, swinging his hands to his neck.

"B-Bastard!" Douglas flashed his pearly white teeth and performed a swift round kick to Alonzo's side beneath his arm. As Alonzo swayed to the side, Douglas lifted his leg nearly vertical and brought it crashing down onto his brother's left shoulder, disabling his left arm. "Fuck!" Alonzo's hand flew to his shoulder and he backed up, gasping for breath and wincing with pain.

"Never said I was done. I hate having to get blood on my hands, but it seems I'll have to. Thanks a lot, motherfucker." Douglas grabbed up the knife near Raul's body and ducked under Alonzo, cutting the muscle in the back of his leg. Alonzo shouted painfully and fell to the ground, no longer was he able to use his right leg. Alonzo reached up and Douglas taunted him by handing him the knife. "Come on, try and strike me."

"Asshole!" Douglas frowned and pressed his foot lightly onto his eldest brother's neck. Alonzo's eyes widened and Douglas watched his chest rise and fall erratically. "What are you doing?"

"Following dad's orders…" Alonzo swallowed and moved his free hand to Douglas's leg. He was sweating horribly. "I'll say it again, I don't think Dad would have sanctioned you to attack me. Self defense is now the only way to resolve this...his orders...I know he didn't ask you to do this..."

"He…didn't…"

"So you came here of your own will? Why do you hate me, Alonzo? You know how happy I would have been to have brothers growing up who were actually…well, my _brothers_? All you've done is suffocate me, choke me, all my life…So what if I had to break up with Carly so as to try and keep her away from the gang. I don't think forced prostitution is right for her. Porn stars are more respectable and make better money. Prostitutes…they're the ones that get the deep shit. Carly doesn't need that."

"Who the fuck cares? Her fucking mother was a prostitute, she was taken by events against the gang, and our dad had to murder the woman. He wanted to recruit her daughter when she was of age. So what? It's just a simple 'okay Dad, here you go', and you go your own way! Who the shit cares? I just hate you because you're the goddamn favorite! You're the one he focuses on all the time!"

"Hm…" Douglas closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "For one thing, _I_ care, _I_ give a shit whether or not my girlfriend goes into prostitution."

"I find it ironic…you're against prostitution, yet you're playing with your little porn." Douglas grimaced and felt his stomach lurch, he was tired of porn, to be honest. Besides, it wasn't the same without Carly.

"Believe me Alonzo…" Alonzo gagged as Douglas begun to slowly press down on his neck, blocking off the flow of air. He reached for Douglas's foot, but couldn't pull it off. "Porn may be bad, it could be harmful, and it has a potential to ruin lives, _but…_Prostitution is _far, far worse_ than porn could ever hope to be."

Alonzo's body begun convulsing and Douglas pressed more firmly to steady himself. He knew he wouldn't fall, though. He simply watched until Alonzo's body stopped convulsing. He was dead. Douglas removed his foot and sighed sadly. His heart broke as he gazed at his brothers' bodies. All his life he wished he could have a normal family with normal brothers, but instead, all he got was shit upon shit, upon more shit.

Carlos slowly opened his eyes, he felt a severe pain in his lower extremities. He couldn't be sure where that pain was coming from or why he felt it, especially since Douglas didn't hit him anywhere below his belt. As he looked down, his eyes widened, but not at his body. His body was bandaged up down there. His eyes widened when he saw a jar with some kind of fluid, and in that jar were two large testicles. He paled as he read the tape on the glass.

_For donation to Seattle University Medical School. Donor: Carlos Rodriquez. Age: 21. Item donated: Testes. Size: 18 ml_

"Seattle University thanks you for your heartfelt donation to science to help study the effects of low testosterone in men, Carlos." Carlos turned his head to Douglas and whimpered, sweat dripped from his pores and his face was in mid scream. Douglas was leaning casually against the wall, twirling a small scalpel in his hands, which bore latex gloves. Next to Carlos was a heart monitor, anesthesia kit, and other medical supplies. "I thank the American Red Cross for my medical training. Through surgery, I have removed your gonads, which now you have none of…it's really _not_ that much different than how you were before."

"B-b-b-" Carlos continued his incessant babbling whimpers while the color in him completely drifted away.

"I've cleaned and sutured the scrotum together and I've also done another surgical procedure for you." Carlos shook his head rapidly, praying nothing else had happened. "This was a delicate operation, sort of plastic surgery, if you will. I so kindly resized your, I believe the medical word is _penis_, for you." Carlos's nostrils flared open and his chest rose. He reached down and whimpered, he couldn't feel anything but a bump! "You'll notice that your dick is now one to two inches when fully erect. And there's the skin and portion that had to be removed…" Carlos turned his eyes to a small metal tray and that did it, he passed out once more on the bed, which had a large towel beneath him so blood didn't get on the bed.

Carlos opened his eyes a few hours later and moaned, Douglas had cleaned up the surrounding area and waved kindly at his patient. Thinking fast, Carlos reached down to try and see if the nightmare was real, and sadly, it was. Douglas cleared his throat and started to lead him to the door. "Carlos, if you speak a word to _anyone_ about what went down here today, I'll do more than just chopping your balls off. I'll perform surgery on you, so complex, so fucking painful, and I may just 'forget' the anesthesia." Carlos gasped as his eyes widened. Never would he forget the image of seeing his testicles in that jar. Granted by now, Douglas had already sent them to the university as an anonymous donation.

"W-Why did you…do that to me?" Douglas rubbed his nose and pressed his lips together.

"I think you and I both know the answer to that. I'm sure _Carly_ even knows the answer to that question. Which brings me to my next point. You decide you're going to be rough on her again, you decide to have sex with her, be it consensual or not…" He turned to Carlos and smiled slightly, dusting off his shoulders. His smile turned to a frown and he glared seriously into Carlos's eyes. "I'm going to chop your filthy hands off, shove them up your ass, cut whatever's left of your worthless dick, shove _that_ down your throat, open you up while you're wide awake and slowly apply pressure to all of your internal organs. All while making sure you live through the entire ordeal." Carlos's eyes enlarged and he slowly backed away, waving his hands in the air.

"Okay, okay, I got it. My lips are sealed and I won't fuck your girl."

"And kindly _do not_ refer to her in that manner."

"Sorry!" Carlos turned tail and ran, screaming like a deranged lunatic. Douglas turned around and sighed as he reentered his home. He sat in his recliner and rubbed his face. Never before had he done all that he'd done today, not like this. He never used his medical training in such a way, and didn't actually care to do so again. He frowned and reached over to the phone, grasping it and dialing a number.

The phone rang a few times, then finally an older man answered the phone. Douglas looked towards the bedroom where his brothers' bodies were. He closed his eyes and leaned back slowly. "Hey Dad, my brothers just broke in my house and attacked me…" There was a dead silence in the air before the man spoke his response, Douglas held his breath and sighed. "Yes…I did…I've also performed an orchiectomy on Carlos Rodriquez. Yes, that's the term for removal of testicles…I was pissed…Can you really blame me? He...I don't know what he did to Carly exactly, all I know is I'm not sure if she liked it or not." Douglas tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest and sighed. "I figured since you have him searching for her now, I'd let him live…why bother pissing you off any more, right?" He rolled his eyes and scoffed inwardly. Yeah right, he wanted to kill that fucking bastard, everything in him told him to do it, but he was already too emotionally drained from Alonzo and Raul that he just couldn't bring himself to kill another person. He just wanted to send Carlos a message. "I guess we'll be talking again soon, huh. Just let me rest for the day. I just got done with a fucking video shoot, getting chased down by my brothers' thugs, then being basically attacked by them in my own home. I'm tired…" He breathed out as his father continued to speak. "Yeah…later, pops…"

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><p>So, kind of sad that his brothers attacked him. Carlos got what was coming to him, but believe me, Douglas may come to wish he <em>did <em>kill Carlos when he had the chance.


	34. Aging Father

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 34 (Aging Father)<p>

Douglas stepped into his father's small home and ran a comb through his hair, he let out a small sigh and eyed his surroundings just to make sure he wasn't about to be jumped. His dad lived in a relatively small home on a large acre of land in the countryside. He usually stationed himself towards the main city, but this was where he went to, nobody was able to find him here. The interior walls were lined with brown wallpaper that met with the desert brown carpeting. The living room had a couch propped against a wall and in front of it was a large television. There was a coffee table in the center and a slight floral pattern that framed the glass. Rafael was seated on the far edge of the couch, his face was hard and sullen. Douglas moved towards him with a sad expression on his face.

"I didn't want to do it, Dad. I had no choice…" Rafael slowly lifted his hand, trying to keep his face from showing any pain. This was how things were in the life of the gang, it could not be helped. He'd expected to lose his sons long ago.

"Maybe their bodies never died, but they were lost to the ways of the gang life long ago. You, you were not…I did not want this life for you." Douglas took a seat on the other end of the couch and bent forward, clasping his hands together in between his legs. He kept imagining his brothers' faces twisted in pain, frozen in death. It was like a horrible nightmare that he just couldn't get out of. His father reached over to place his hand upon his son's shoulder. Douglas looked up at him with a hardened face.

"I killed all those people today, Dad..."

"The Niño's have already covered it up, my son." Douglas moved his eyes to the side and lifted his shoulders up hopelessly. "I see that isn't what's on your mind." Douglas clenched his hand and carefully ran it through his hair, it was trembling and his palms were sweaty.

"The things I've done today, you'd think I'd done them before…but it's just the life I've known. I've never killed anyone. They all came after me, my _own brothers_ ordered me killed. It's not fair, it's not _right_. What, they couldn't get over their hatred of me for one second?"

"I'm sorry, Doug." Rafael leaned back in the couch and stared at a photograph that was resting on the television. It was of his all his children growing up. His face was long and his full, grey hair was amiss from his constant nervous habit of rubbing his head when something bad was happening. "I suppose it is my fault. I let you get away with disobeying me and they thought it was just another act of favoritism." Douglas pressed his lips together and stared at his father with certainty.

"Dad. I am not handing Carly over to El Niño's. There is nothing you, or anyone else, can say or do that would ever convince me to hand her over. That's why I dumped her and was so cold to her…" He pushed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, he felt satisfied knowing Carly was likely out of their reach, but he hated how things went. If only he could see her again, if only it was _safe_. Even though Carlos knew where she was, he wouldn't dare go near her. Rafael smiled and leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together and staring over at his son's eyes.

"You love her, don't you son?" His eyes shot open and a tense feeling shot up his throat, causing him to gag.

"What? No!" Rafael raised his eyebrows as Douglas's hand soared through the air defensively. "You, of all people, should know how I feel about _love_. I'm a fucking porn manager, Papá. There is no such thing as love. You know how many people I've seen that have willingly cheated on their loved ones for a beautiful, youthful girl? It's fucking _horrible!_ If love exists, it's dead." He didn't truly believe that, but he was so strongly against it because of the things he'd seen. Prostitution, men beating women, the life he grew up knowing, where was love? What did it mean to be in love? Sure, his feelings for Carly had been strong, but _love_

"Love is not dead, my son. It is a feeling that should be there if it's with the right person…if not, then it is not lust, and it is easy to fall to the temptations of men." Douglas lifted his eyebrow as Rafael looked towards a holy bible placed upon the brick fireplace. They were of the Catholic faith, due to their Hispanic heritage. "You chose to break your father's orders to save that girl from a life of prostitution. You also defended her against your brothers…If that is not love, I don't know what is."

"I don't know what it is, Mi Papi." Douglas folded his arms over and narrowed his eyes intensely. He didn't want to argue his point with his father, he just knew one thing would remain a constant. If his dad wanted Carly, then the gang would surely continue going after her until the end of time. "So is it true? You killed her mother?" He breathed in heavily and Rafael shut his wrinkly eyes. For a sixty three year old man, he was way too tired. He needed a heir, for only one of his children could take his place, it was the written rule of leadership, but the sad fact was, he didn't want Douglas to have to do it. "Why did you do it, Dad? Why did you kill that woman, what was she to you?"

"She was a prostitute for El Niño's. She was taken from the _Lustful Divas_ club in Yakima back in '75. I was only twenty six then, and a dangerous leader. I was vicious, just as Alonzo, persistent as Raul, but formidable as you are." Douglas leaned back and pressed his lips tightly together while listening to his father's story. He never knew that much about the man's early days with the group. "El Niño's had just started out and we were already in the business of drug trade and recruiting women to be prostitutes. You know how the gang is, once we set our eyes upon something…it's ours unless we either willingly give it up, or die. Well someone in the military took that woman out from under my nose…"

"That's an insult, isn't it?"

"Yes, my son." Douglas closed his eyes and moaned. That man practically signed for himself and that woman, their death warrants. "You see my son, to take a prostitute without ramifications, you either must make a deal with that prostitute's pimp, buy that prostitute, or kill the pimp. This man did nothing."

"And naturally, by gang law, you had to take her back…but she'd already started her family."

"Yes, and she was old, there was no way I could get her back. That meant, there was only one thing left to do. Kill her…as well as her husband, but the man was overseas and still is." Douglas swallowed hard and turned his eyes to a window of the house, he felt sick to his stomach. Did Carly know all this? How would she take it, if she knew, how did she cope? "That's when we found she had a daughter, and so we would wait…for that daughter would take her place." He gasped and his eyes widened as he quickly shifted his attention to his father. "A prostitute with a daughter is a treasure trove to a gang…but we had to wait for that girl to turn eighteen, we also needed a way to reel her in, to take her. That's when you met her and begun to date."

"Y-You _used_ me?" He rose up angrily and Rafael winced with pain, he didn't wish for his son to be angry at him. Granted, the boy had every right to be angry. "So tell me, Dad…the last twenty years, has everything been a lie? Has everything been a ploy?" Douglas clenched his hands and began to shake as he stared down his father. He had more sense than to strike this man down, but he was seriously thinking about it. "I didn't date Carly so the fucking Niño's could take her and turn her into a prostitute that could be abused, brutalized, raped, and possibly even murdered by god knows who! I understand that the porn business can have a shadier side to it, but it's _nothing_ like prostitution. Carly does not need that life!" Rafael stared at his son with a soft smile and closed his eyes.

"So then, you do have feelings for her." Douglas rolled his eyes and growled. He cracked his neck to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Tell me. Have you even been with another woman?"

"What?" The energy was slowly fleeing him, all the anger and rage was there, but he was far too exhausted to hold it for too long.

"You're in the porn business, as you've said. How many women have you slept with?" Douglas's eyes darted about the room as he tried to think. He'd not slept with that many, hell, he actually never slept with any of the girls. He just wasn't into the whole thing.

"N-None…I've never had sex with anyone…" Reading his eyes, Rafael knew his son was lying. He snapped his fingers and smirked.

"There was one, wasn't there? You know you can't lie to me, son. You slept with her, didn't you?" He didn't want to admit the truth, but his father was right. He and Carly had sex with each other all the time, they enjoyed each other's company. He closed his eyes and Rafael leaned back in his chair. "I trust you used protection?"

"Well…" He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Whenever they had sex, it was like a break. Almost everyone else that had sex with her, ever since she developed herpes, used a condom to protect themselves. Since it wasn't genetic, it wouldn't ever go to any of her children, and it was only passed onto other people via skin to skin contact. This also meant it was possible to have sex when there wasn't an outbreak and get by without getting infected. Douglas did not have herpes, but he slept with her and without a condom. "Don't ask me why, but I never really used a condom. I could never get them on very well…" Rafael smacked his forehead and sighed, he should have taught his son early on about safety.

"I blame myself, Douglas." Douglas raised his eyebrow and his father picked up a small cup on the coffee table. "I was almost never around for you growing up, you were raised by your mother…I never taught you the sex education that you needed to learn."

"Yeah…tell me you're not about to give me the sex talk."

"Have a seat, son." Douglas moaned and lifted his eyes skyward as he sat on the couch. "Now as I'm sure you know, once El Niño's have set their sights on something, they get what they want."

"And being the son of the leader, I have no say?"

"This goes a long way before you." Douglas rubbed his forehead and cussed mentally. Both he and his father knew he would continue to fight to keep Carly _away_ from El Niño, no matter what. Maybe his father called it love, that if he didn't love her he would let the gang have her. He didn't know what he called it, but he was almost certain it wasn't love, whatever it was. "You know the more you fight, the more they're going to go after you, and I'm not going to be able to stop it. I'm _dying_, Douglas. Your brother Alonzo already set out to retrieve Carly no one can undo that now. Carlos is the one who wants to become her pimp, and he's already got someone, I don't know who, lined up to take his place should he die before they get her. Now not only that, but there's an order out that should you kill Carlos, then they must kill you…"

"What! That's bullshit!" Douglas slammed his fist onto the table and growled violently. He didn't care what the Niño's thought, he was not letting them have Carly. "Carly's doing fine as a stripper. Carlos took it too far with her, he's not good to be around her!"

"I know, but Douglas…there are a lot of people who support him. You're hardly ever involved with this gang, so now that your brothers are gone, if you're out of the picture, it'll be _Carlos_ who leads El Niño's when I die. There are a lot of Niño's out there who will want to kill you…"

"Let them try…" Douglas slowly stood up and narrowed his eyes piercing his father with the malice he felt towards Carlos. "I'll kill Carlos and his vice with my bare hands if I have to. I should have done it earlier when I had the chance, and he _knows_ I have that opportunity now. That little fuck will piss his pants before he messes with me." He had nothing more to say to his father, so he turned away and started walking towards the door in a confident stride. Rafael called out to him and cleared his throat.

"Son, please, don't go fighting El Niño's. I don't want this life for you, my son." Douglas stopped in the doorway with the sunlight peering through the now open door and outlining his body. He slowly closed his fists and turned his head to the side, peering his eyes over his left shoulder.

"You should have thought about that before letting me grow up in this kind of life, then. I've got somewhere to be, Dad." Rafael pressed his lips together and swallowed as he watched his only remaining son walk out the door. God only knew where he would be led to now.

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><p>Ah Douglas, Douglas, it <em>is<em> love you feel for Carly. You just don't know it yet. Well stick around for the next. We're two chapters away from Douglas and Carly talking.


	35. Tailing Carlos

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 35 (Tailing Carlos)<p>

_"So my brothers lied…"_ Douglas narrowed his eyes as he parked his car next to the gas station that Carlos was inside of. Carlos was busy buying a bottle of liquor. _"That bastard's been in the gang longer than 'new' if he's being considered as Dad's replacement." _His father had a few years left before he died, surely, so he didn't see much point to worry. However, if he was going to be targeted by Carlos's supporters, then his dad might be as well. This just would not fly.

Once he saw Carlos walk out of the building, he sprang into action and shifted his clutch into drive. He waited as Carlos got into his car and started to pull out of the parking lot. Where was he going? The sun had set, so it would be harder for Carlos to see Douglas tailing him. It worked a lot better when he stowed away in their car, but he was taking into consideration that Carlos might be smart enough to check the backseat, and he was.

Carefully he pulled from the parking lot and trailed Carlos like a lion stalks his prey. His eyes drifted to the five hundred and fifty dollars on the dash, it was the last transaction he had from the video shoot in the morning. He had another he should have done in the afternoon, but he had no choice but to cancel it. His eyes moved towards Carlos's car and he turned left with the man, who still didn't suspect him of following. Even as they entered the freeway, Carlos was still completely oblivious to Douglas's presence. It made him laugh to think this man could be so stupid to not realize someone was tailing him.

As he tapped his left foot on the foot rug, he decided to go ahead and roll his window down. He'd been feeling a vibration and was almost certain someone had their radio on max. When he rolled the window down, the music blasted into his ears. He nearly swerved and hit the car next to him. As he readjusted himself and looked around, he realized that of the other cars around him, only Carlos's would be playing music that loud. Groaning with annoyance, he rolled the window back up and glared at the back of the man's head.

"No wonder the prick doesn't know I'm following him." This droned on for the next two hours when Douglas finally took note of the sign for Yakima. His eyes widened a small amount and he slowly bore his glare onto Carlos's shaven head. "The motherfucker better not be doing what I think he's doing."

At the _Divas_, Carly and Bridget were getting dressed in the back room. Carly straightened her small silver bra and fixed the straps to her shoulders. She had a silver shawl on her arms, slightly resembling wings, and some buckles on her legs that ran up to her silver panties. The bra and panties were outlined with glimmering strings. She looked at Bridget, who was dressed similarly, but with gold. Bridget gave her a smile and a quick hug.

"You ready to go out there, Carly?"

"Yeah, more than ever."

"Let's do this, then. Just remember, when you choose the person to go into the private room…_no sex_, okay?" Carly chuckled nervously under her friend's stern glance. She knew she was in for it if she slipped up and had sex again. "Just be careful, some of those people think they're going to get sex when they see that you take the highest paying in for a private show. You have to let them know: Hands off."

"Right…so how do you choose who gets the private room, Bridge?"

"Same way as you, highest payer gets in no matter who he is." Carly smiled and looked up as the DJ started to announce Bridget's name. Bridget grinned as Carly gave her another tight hug. "All right Carly, start preparing your act. I'll see you in a few minutes." Carly slowly nodded her head and watched as Bridget breezed through the door and onto the stage.

Carly turned towards the mirror and started fixing her hair. She held it up and turned from side to side, gazing at herself with a bright smile. She was all silver today and she enjoyed the theme. There were various fun themes they did here. In some ways it was better than being a porn star, but she still missed the constant sex. She frowned and placed her hands to her hips, watching her hair fall to her shoulders. It didn't help that it was mostly older men here. That gang member had been the youngest she'd seen here. She wondered if Douglas could get in here, considering he was 21. At least he turned 21 a month ago. She rubbed her chest and moaned, her breasts hurt, most likely from a cold. She grabbed the lipstick off the counter and looked up at the clock, it was 10:23, and yet she was already starting to tire.

Douglas started growling as he stopped near the alley behind the _Divas_ club, he was almost certain to be close to killing Carlos. He left the car and made his way to the side of the green dumpster right across the alley door. He had to wonder why Carlos was wasting his time going in through the back, but then it dawned on him that the El Niño's were strictly forbidden from entering the club. The bouncer in the front wouldn't even let him in. However the alley door ought to be locked, so how else would Carlos come in?

He watched Carlos scale the wall, feeling it by running his fingertips along it. Soon he came to an area that felt of wood. It was part of the old foundation that was left over, a board covered a busted window that led into one of the old private quarters that was no longer in use. It was how he snuck in the last time. Douglas raised his eyebrows and watched as Carlos lifted the bottom of the thin board out, the top was still bolted into the brick, he then slipped inside.

"Shit!" Douglas rounded the corner of the building and eyed the bouncers, he was certain they wouldn't know who he was. As he started walking to the door, one of the two men in a black suit held his hand out, asking for an ID. He showed his ID to the man, waited as he checked the birthday, then let him inside. "Thank you."

He slowly walked into the building, looking around at the smoke filled air. His nose twitched and he slowly scanned the tables that were off to the left. He never had been in a strip club before and never thought he would be in one. The smoke was a bit much, he rarely smoked and it still bothered him. He spotted a table amid all the filled dinner tables that had a pole going up to the ceiling. One busty looking girl was swaying her back in a serpentine motion on the pole while a bunch of horny business men threw money at her feet.

_"You're kidding, right?"_ He lifted his eyebrows and started moving his eyes towards the far left corner of the room where a cluster of doors rested. Most likely the doors were where the main office was, along with the entryway towards the area where the strippers changed and started heading to the stage.

The stage was lit up with white lights and currently a girl with short hair was stretched in an upwards arc. His eyebrows rose and he started making his way to the bar on his right, it was actually the most comfortable looking thing there. He sat on one of the stools and spotted the area to his right of the stage, it was a small square area with four doors, each were likely private rooms. As he scanned his eyes along, seeing tables off to the side of the stage, he found there was a smaller, rectangular stage that only had room for one stripper and a rusty looking climbing pole.

The bartender startled him and tapped his shoulder, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair. As he turned his eyes to the bartender, he saw she was a young, almost thirty year old woman with coal black hair and pale skin. She wore a few bracelets on her wrist and had nothing on her chest at all. He sighed and placed his elbow on the bar, then rested his head onto his hand.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Yeah, give me a bottle of Sam Adams, if you have it."

"We do. That'll be 4.50." He reached into his pocket and pulled out five dollars, then rested it on the table. The lady took the bill and moved over to the beers they had. She returned seconds later with a cold bottle of beer.

"Thanks." He took a sip of the beer and eyed the private rooms in time to see Carlos slip unseen by the guards walking the joint. Every fiber in his body told him to alert them of Carlos's presence, but he thought better of that. If he did, Carlos would most likely alert them, along with Carly, as to his involvement in the gang. He followed Carlos and watched move to the stage and watch the girl dancing. The DJ had mentioned her name was Bridget. "Hey bartender, do you have a list of the appearances the dancers make on the stage?"

"Yes, hold on…" He turned to face the bar completely as the bartender pulled a sheet from the register and placed it in front of him. "Here, and the girls have their preferences on private rooms as well."

"Okay, thanks again." He took another drink of his beer and started scanning the list with his finger. It appeared they had a rotating rule, which meant each of them waited for full cycle before getting on the stage again. There were ten dancers, the current one was Bridget, the prior had been Serendipity, and the next dancer was Carlotta. Douglas lifted his eyebrows and chuckled. _"Highest price, huh? Guess they'd really have to want that lap dance." _ He kept Carlos in his peripheral vision while taking another slow sip of his beer.

"That was the Bodacious Bridget, and it looks like she's chosen her private dance!" The DJ crooned. Douglas blinked and turned around on the stool, taking a drink of his drink. He carefully set the drink on the bar and watched as Bridget took some random young guy off into the private rooms. "Give it up for Carlotta Bush! How many of you want to bet she's shaven and doesn't have a bush?" Douglas arched his eyebrow and leaned back.

"Yeah. She's shaven. Completely. What's the big deal? None of your business..." He watched as the stage doors opened and fog rolled out of the doorway. Within a second, out stepped Carly. His eyes widened momentarily as he eyed her beautiful silver outfit. Her neck sparkled in the light and her hair was up above her head. He glanced to the side and felt his stomach flip. At least she had a decent job in a strip club rather than porn or prostitution. Granted, a strip club wasn't all glamorous and it did have its trouble, but as long as she wasn't mixed up in random shit, that was fine.

Carly walked out onto the stage, once more her vision was dulled by the lights. She immediately began dancing around the pole and performing her sultry moves, her goal was simple, to make all the men in this place want her.

She moved her arms in front of her face, moving almost like a belly dancer would, but not quite the same way. She continued on to slowly pull her bra straps from her shoulders and moved her palms beneath her breasts and pushed them up.

Men were already beginning to toss money on the stage for her, she was watching each of them. Her dance was almost over, a few more booty shakes, then a revealing of her breasts, a few teases, and then a couple aerobatic moves, and she'd be in.

After she managed to perform the dances, bending over amongst them, that's when she saw him. The gang member from the previous night. Her eyes widened as Carlos flashed his teeth and pushed in four hundred dollars into the bra she had put back on. The color began draining from her face and she slowly closed her eyes. She knew this guy would want sex. As much as she craved that feeling, she didn't want to have sex with him.

She slowly looked up at the DJ, nervously trying to figure a way to communicate to him that the gang member was back. He was busy checking his records and wasn't paying attention. Why was it that the one time she wanted his attention, he wasn't there.

"So you and me again, eh chica?" Carly's eyes darted back to Carlos as the other men around him were searching their pockets. Nobody could top four hundred dollars. Either they couldn't or they _wouldn't_. She was praying someone, _anyone_ would do it, because if she had to go into a private room and he threw himself on her, it wouldn't be consensual this time.

Suddenly out of nowhere, when the man was busy looking away and talking to someone who struck up a conversation with him, somebody slipped five hundred and fifty dollars into her silver underwear. She looked at it and counted it mentally, her eyes widening. She was saved! Someone topped the gang member, she'd have to pay them with an extra special lap dance, or whatever they wanted as long as it wasn't sex.

Her eyes drifted to the person who put the money in and her breath caught her throat as her eyes started to mist and her jaw fell. Douglas! He was staring at her with a cool smirk and his left hand in his pocket. His right hand was outstretched. "Well, you want to go with that guy or me? Make up your mind." Douglas managed to make some random guy start talking to Carlos, and thus, managed to distract him.

"I-I…" She stammered and took a glance at Carlos, then quickly placed her hand in his. Her expression became determined and he began walking with her. Carlos looked back and groaned when he saw her walking away with someone, he couldn't recognize them from the back. Evidently they topped him and he was out three hundred bucks.

"Son of a bitch…"

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><p>Next chapter, Carly and Douglas have a long talk, among other things. No, they don't have sex or a lap dance in the private room.<p> 


	36. From the Heart

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: I'm posting this at the same time, yes, but for a good reason. It was all one chapter split in two for easy reading.

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><p>Chapter 36 (From the Heart)<p>

When Carly and Douglas entered the private room, Douglas sat on the leather chair and Carly moved to the bed. She folded her arms over and stared away from him, unsure if she really wanted to give him a lap dance. The fact that he wasn't requesting one or making any movements told her he wasn't interested.

He tilted his head and scanned her up and down, he hadn't actually seen her body in a long time. He missed the feel of their bodies pressed together. His lips curled downward and he pushed the thought from his mind. She turned her eyes to him and lifted her hands up to let her hair down and get comfortable. "What are you doing here, Doug?"

"What? I can't come see how your new job's going?" Carly rolled her eyes and moved her body into a sideways position on the bed, propping her head onto her hand and elbow onto the bed.

"No. You want something. I know you do…I'm still pissed at you, and for more than one reason."

"Besides the whole break up thing?" She clicked her tongue and sighed, recalling how cold and cruel he was. He hardly seemed to show any remorse, but given what she learned about him, remorse might be a hard thing for him to show. "Let's get to one thing at a time…"

"Doug, I know what you did to Sam. I saw it on the news, you hurt her. I know you're aggressive, but you had no _right_ to hurt my friend, my sister." Douglas froze slightly and closed his eyes, her tone was an accusing one, and for some reason, it made him recoil and sink down in guilt. "I know you want her to be involved in the porn business, I know she was one of your best moneymakers, but please…if she's trying to _quit_, then let her. Her clients might find out where she is and try to convince her to return, she'll say no most likely, but she doesn't need all the stress. She doesn't need it from them and she _definitely_ doesn't need it from the likes of _you_."

"I can see why you'd say that…I guess if she's going to quit, she's going to quit. There's nothing I can do if she's already made up her mind…" He slowly stood from the chair and walked over to a painting on the left side wall. Carly raised her eyebrow as he rubbed his chin and eyed the painting. It was a beautiful portrait by Mexican artist Paul David Bond, an unusual painting to be hanging in a strip club. He rubbed his chin and smiled at the serene image.

It was of the sunset in the sky, a beautiful orange and pink air surrounded at the bottom by greyish white clouds. A line of birds was flying across the left of the painting towards the center. Up in the top right corner of the painting was where a bright light shone through a spiral shaped cloud. He found himself slowly getting lost into the painting, it was one of his favorite artists.

Carly watched him closely and slowly sat up on the bed. Her lips pressed tightly together as she moved her eyes to the door. There was no reason to leave, he wasn't going to do anything to her. He didn't give her that feeling, not like the feeling she got from Carlos. She slowly stood up and walked over towards him, gazing at the painting too.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Douglas? I saw the painting at the store when I first came over here. Bridget took me shopping and I wanted this picture. I knew Granddad probably wouldn't hang it up anywhere, so Bridget suggested I personalize my own private quarters." He slowly nodded as she breathed out. "These people are like family to me, almost…They're letting me sleep here in my own private room if I have trouble with granddad."

"What's his problem?"

"He's just being an asshole…" Douglas frowned and slowly nodded his head, it would seem she knew all too well about assholes. Maybe her granddad would get over himself, maybe not. Who could really say? "Oh and I discovered some new music lately. Katie Melua, look her up on youtube sometime." He raised his eyebrows and looked over as she continued gazing at the painting. "I Cried For You, by Katie Melua, my favorite song of hers."

"I've heard it. I don't get the video I saw, but I've heard the song." Douglas turned to her and pressed his lips firmly together. "Carly, I know better than to expect you to take me back if I were to ask you to, or even beg."

"You're not the begging type…"

"This is true." He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled slightly. "My point is not that I want it, I'd love for you to take me back, sure, but I can't…" Carly felt her heart tense at his words and she immediately turned to him with anger in her eyes. He lifted his hands up and gazed back into her eyes with a stroke of calmness. "Listen Carly. You're in danger, okay? That's all it is…" She rolled her eyes and scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"I _know_ about my mother, the El Niño's, and all that crap, Douglas!" He froze as she narrowed her eyes and glared back into him, her burning daggers piercing him. "Instead of being a boyfriend, you hurt me, you broke me…Throwing me away, is that the type of boyfriend you think you should be? You fucking messed with me!" In a fit of anger, she raised her hand and swiftly moved it towards him to slap him. He grunted and quickly caught her wrist, not tightening it, but still holding it firmly. She gasped and her hair swung over her shoulder from the pressure. He narrowed his eyes and continued gazing into hers. Her gaze softened under his and her lips curled downwards into a frown.

"My father, my brothers, and now Carlos…They all wanted me to bring you to them. They wanted me to turn you over to them and turn you to prostitution, how the fuck do you think I felt about that, Carly?" Carly groaned slightly and tried to pull back, but he continued his hold. "It was either I continue to date you, refuse to hand you over, and eventually have you want to meet my family…and then they'd kidnap you. Or it was I date you, and hand you over to them! Or, it was I break up with you. Yes, I know it was a bad fucking time to do so, and you know something? I, yes, I actually felt _horrible_ about doing that to you. I don't know why, but somewhere deep inside, I can't fucking explain it, I actually hated myself for what I did to you."

Carly's eyes widened and water began to fill them. Her lower lip started to quiver, she wanted to know more. A fast knocking came and a woman's voice spoke from behind the door. "Carly, are you okay in there?" Carly stammered to speak, and finally collected herself. She continued to stare into his fierce eyes, unmoving, and responded.

"I-I'm fine Bridget. I just need some more time, okay? We're…we're talking."

"Okay, take as much time as you need. As long as you're not having sex…"

"Wouldn't think of it…" She waited for a few minutes, her chest rose and fell slightly. Their gazes remained locked with each other. His nostrils flared open for a split second. "You felt bad?"

"I have no excuse for dumping you so coldly…I have no excuse for hurting Sam the way I did. Carly, I was raised to be violent, I was raised with the mindset that there's only one way out. By brothers constantly beat the shit out of me and the one person that usually kept them at bay wasn't always there. I grew up with anger being my only outlet. You know this…I tried to take Sam back by force, it was wrong, and I had my ass handed to me because of it. If you say I should leave her alone, I will leave her be. I can't promise she won't get into trouble with other people and shit, but I'll leave her alone if you tell me to."

"She's my sister, Douglas…Maybe not blood, but she's still my sister…If you beat her, it's like…" He removed his hold from her wrist and she pulled it back, placing it on her free arm. "It's like you're beating me. You say you're a violent man, and sure others might want to say you've beaten even me, but you haven't…I know my mother's history, how she was at this very club. I guess it was fate, really…but you know, if you're part of that gang…"

"You have to believe me when I say I am not. Because of that, my brothers just attacked me, along with some of Carlos's thugs. I…I had to kill them…" Carly flinched and she moved her eyes to Douglas. He averted his eyes sadly and shook his head, trying to rid himself of that memory. "My father covered up all deaths, not that it wouldn't have been self-defense anyway. Even Carlos tried to attack me."

"Carlos? Who…who is he?"

"He's that gang member that's out there." Carly cupped her hand over her mouth. Douglas crossed his arms over his mouth and closed his eyes. "Because my brothers are dead, my father wants me to take over El Niño's, or else Carlos will. Carlos, and a bunch of his supporters want me dead…so even if I hadn't broken up with you, even if they weren't after you, Carlos and his supporters would likely kill you too. I can't let that happen." She smiled slowly and he returned his gaze to her, pressing his lips tightly together. "I can't explain it. My father has his crazy, half-assed theories."

"You might listen to your dad sometimes, he may be the leader of a small, yet evil gang, but…he may be smarter than you think." He chuckled nervously and closed his eyes tightly. He didn't think he was all that smart, he was getting tired of all the violence, but he had no choice really in that matter.

"Carly, I'm really sorry that things turned out the way they did." She pursed her lips as he raised his hands up to her arms and continued to gaze into her wide, beautiful eyes. Something struck him, he didn't know what it was. It wasn't painful, but he disliked it. "If I had known things were getting so bad…well I should have known. It's my fault you have to take another year of high school, it's my fault you're separated from your best friends, my fault iCarly ended, my fault Spencer kicked you out…I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain." Her heart skipped a beat with every word he said. She slowly shook her head as her lips curled upwards. She raised her right hand and placed it softly against his right cheek. The warmth of her touch seemed to warm his body. He felt strong, the world was as it should be, though it was not.

"Douglas, it's not all your fault. You…you got me into it, yeah, but we did everything together. I'm the one that agreed to everything. If I said no, I'm not sure how you would have taken it…wasn't I the one that suggested it first? Hell…"

It was a hard memory, so long ago, but when all the porn shooting began, it began with a single suggestion. They wanted to have sex, and Carly thought they should shoot a video and post it online for pointers on how it went. Neither of them had ever had sex education. Her brother was always too shy to talk about it and his father had always been too busy to speak about sex. When they got good comments, they posted another for feedback, and another, until it eventually became so pleasurable and a means of making money, that neither of them ever stopped and they gathered so many people, including Sam herself.

Douglas felt a surge of pain through his heart and he let out a sorrowful moan. Tears dripped slowly down Carly's cheeks as she lowered her hand to his. "As for Spencer, that was all my fault, not yours. The addiction and the lies just got so bad…I just couldn't stop. My dad wants to come home on early leave and help pull me out of this life…but it's so addicting…"

Douglas lifted his hand to her face and brushed it towards the back of her neck as he moved his face closer to hers. "He should, he should come home. I know that war with Iran is pretty bad, but you need him more. Don't stop him."

"I-I wouldn't be able to stop him anyway." Her breath escaped her, much to her disdain. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe in. "Tell me how you came here, why you came here?"

"Carlos, while I was fighting with my brothers, he was bragging about how he…had sex with you." Carly tensed her face with irritation and slowly opened her eyes. Perhaps he felt the same hatred for Carlos that she did, perhaps not. "I followed him here…I didn't know he was coming here, but I knew from what he'd been saying, that this was where you were. When I saw he was here…I had to be here."

"And you…evidently knew how to make me pick you?"

"You have to go with the highest payer, no matter what, right?"

"How did you know that?" Douglas curled his lip into a tiny smirk, causing Carly to raise her eyebrow.

"I do have my ways, Shay."

"Then I suppose I do owe you that lap dance…" Douglas waved his hand dismissively and she lifted her eyebrows once more.

"I didn't come here for a lap dance. I paid for a moment with you. We needed to talk. That, and, I couldn't let Carlos get his filthy hands on you again. So I paid all the money I had on me, which I was pretty confident it was more than the amount he had. Turns out, I was right."

"You're crafty, you know that?"

"I take pride in that." He smirked once more and she slowly turned her eyes to the door. She never thought he'd spend all his money just to _talk_ to her, that was impressive. "I should let you know, I got in through the front, but Carlos is getting in through a board that used to be bolted all the way, covering an open window on part of the old foundation."

"Seriously?" She looked over, her brows furrowed. "So that's how he's been getting in."

"Yeah…Carly, can I ask…what _exactly_ did Carlos do to you the other night?" She pulled her lips back as he stepped close to her, placing his hand gently on her arm. "Did he hurt you? Was it…" His throat tightened on the word, it felt like bile to him. Many Niño's were known for doing it, but he never once condoned it. "Was it rape?"

"No…" She closed her eyes and shook her head, it was the honest answer. Douglas let out a small sigh of relief and she slowly opened her eyes to look into his. "I would never have let him…that's how I was, I wouldn't have sex with anyone unless you knew about it…"

"I know, that's why I thought…but it was consensual?"

"I didn't come in with the intention of having sex, Douglas. I want you to know that." He pressed his lips tightly together as she started to rub her arm. "I was just doing my job. Then he grabbed me and threw me on the bed, basically." The anger was now flourishing inside of him as he visualized what had occurred. Needless to say, he was in no way pleased. She took a deep, shaky breath and slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. It always comforted her to do so. "He jumped on me and started to feel me up. It…it felt _good_, it reminded me of the past when you would be shooting me with someone else. I just imagined you there, because I knew he was a gang member and if I did tell him to stop, then he wouldn't. Truth is, at first I didn't want him to stop."

"Then what…" He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, knowing that it would comfort her in some way.

"He started to become rough, a bit violent…like he was trying to claim me as his property or something, I don't know what he was doing. I told him to not be so hard, because it hurt…he just went harder…told him if he didn't slow down and go gentle, then I was going to call for security, and he told me to do it, so I did. They came in and tore him off me. It wasn't rape, because I consented all the way through and I never asked him to stop completely, but…it was frightening."

"He won't touch you again Carly. He won't. I'll be dead before he ever hurts you again."

"And what if you _do_ die, Douglas? You said it yourself, they're targeting you now!"

"No, it'll take a lot to kill me. I won't die…I refuse death, reject it." Carly's legs started to grow tired, so she slowly moved him over to the bed. He raised his eyebrows as she laid on a sideways position.

"Lay with me…hold me."

"Are you sure?"

"Please." He nodded and moved behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and softly kissing her neck once. She closed her eyes and smiled tearfully. "Thank you." She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "You know the last few times that we…well shot those videos?"

"Yeah? What about them?"

"You didn't want to actually be standing behind the camera anymore, you didn't want to watch." He remembered that well. He actually started becoming sick to his stomach after seeing her with someone else. "It wasn't me…" His eyebrows rose curiously and he looked down to her.

"What do you mean it wasn't you?"

"You never watched those videos, so you couldn't tell. However…you were told, to an extent, how the sex was by the client. You were right when you said…when you said I had been lacking. It wasn't me."

"Then who was it? Why wasn't it you?" She moved her eyes to the side and her heart began to pound in her chest. She bit her lip gently and let out a deep sigh.

"You know Clover, and how she looks just like me?" He nodded slowly, his eyes widening to large saucers. "I would ask her to hide somewhere in the room. This has been going on for the last month, actually since I got herpes from the one guy."

"I remember that…we told him to use a condom and he said he didn't have to and we didn't have to worry…"

"Yeah, big mistake. Anyway, I had her do it because I just…I didn't want to do it." She never felt right when she had sex with someone else. She never felt right when someone _else's_ hands were upon her body, or when her lips were being graced by anyone else. The feeling she had when she was around Douglas, it just wasn't there without him, and she felt tainted when it was someone else. "So she started shooting instead while I watched or did something else. I only felt right when we were making love, I just couldn't stand to be with anyone else."

"So, why you…" He was baffled, perplexed by how she managed to outwit him. He applauded her ability to do so. Carly chuckled at how dumbfounded he was acting and looked up into his eyes. She reached around the back of his head and lifted up, kissing his lips deeply. He was taken by surprise and slowly he closed his eyes and kissed her back. A spike of passion started running rampant, assaulting his body in every region. Carly moaned and let out a grunt as she felt the effects of her kiss upon him. He slowly pulled back from her and she eyed his lips hungrily. "You shouldn't do that to me…" He spoke softly and with a certain tenderness into his voice. "You don't know what that could do to me."

"I think I just felt what it could do." She smirked deviously, while continuing to gaze at his lips. "You've missed me?"

"More than you know…but we shouldn't do this, we _can't_ do this. It's too risky, too dangerous. I…I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I blame myself enough for the shit that I put you in, for all the shit that's been going on, and even for the shit that is my family. I don't want to be the reason something bad should happen to you."

"Then protect me…"

"It isn't _safe_, Carly."

"I know. I understand, too…You're not even allowed to be here."

"Well technically, your bouncers don't even know who the hell I am." Carly laughed slightly and shook her head, they really needed to hire some better security guards. "When…when could I even see you again?"

"Carly…I don't know…it's too fucking dangerous. I couldn't even _be_ with you while that gang's still around, while Carlos is still around."

"Would it be wrong if I suggested you kill him?"

"_You?_ Yes, _very_ wrong!" He gave her a look of reprimand, which earned him a slight giggle. "But I will gladly beat him up and throw him out of here for you, I'm sure he's waiting for you." Then it hit her, how long had they been in there for? Her eyes widened and she quickly got up.

"Oh shit! I'm going to be in trouble!" Douglas stood and stretched himself. She turned to him and placed her hands on his chest while leaning close and gazing into his eyes. "Thank you...I, I really needed to see you again. I'm glad we talked. Will I see you again?"

"I don't know…I want to be with you, I feel that, but I also know-"

"There has to be a way. A way where that gang won't find out and where it will be safe. Can't you get that fucking rule taken away? Make them stop targeting me? Make them stop targeting you?"

"No…I…I wish I could. Dad says it's like a written constitution or something, what's done can't be undone unless something more is done to work around it. The gang won't listen to me, I'm not an active part of it. They all support Carlos, they all want me dead…"

"However long it takes, Douglas…Something has to give…" He frowned and embraced her closely. He would do whatever it took to figure a way around that law.

"Go on, I'll deal with Carlos if he's still out there." She groaned and glanced to the door, she hadn't thought about that. He lowered his hand along her arm and grasped her right hand firmly in his. As they stepped outside, he stood against the wall and she stood behind him, resting her hand upon his shoulder and gazing over him. Carlos was sitting in one of the central tables, drinking a bottle of beer. "There he is…I'll create a scene and distract everyone from you. You can get into the stage area if you like." Carly nodded firmly as Douglas tried to think of what he could do, but no ideas were coming. He sighed deeply and took a step forward.

"What are you going to do?" He stopped and chuckled nervously, taking a look at her.

"I'm not sure. I'm winging it." Her jaw fell and he quickly leaned over and kissed her by surprise. She moaned out in the kiss and groaned when he pulled back.

"Be careful…"

"Careful is not my middle name. Reckless sounds more like it." Carly sighed and smacked her forehead as Douglas ran through the building and jumped up onto a table with a loud shout, attracting everybody's attention. Carly took one last, long, wistful glance at him, then ran for the stage room. "Carlos Rodriquez!" Carlos's head shot up and his eyes widened remarkably. He began to panic as the DJ let out a large shout, alerting them that the gang member was here. "You're not allowed in here! Get the fuck out!"

"Doug? What the hell?" Carlos flipped out his knife and Douglas leapt on top of him, slamming him into the floor. Carlos shouted out as Doug grabbed his wrist and applied firm pressure, causing him to drop the weapon. "Motherfucker, get off me!"

"Not till I escort your ass outside, Punci." Douglas lifted him to his feet after having delivered multiple blows to him. A crowd started to gather around and Douglas led Carlos to the door. Someone opened the doors for him and he threw Carlos onto the hard pavement outside. He took one final glance at the door entering into the stage and saw Carly peering out wistfully. Their eyes met and locked for a small period of time. He gave her a firm nod, felt his heart flip over, and slowly left the building. Carly moaned inwardly and shut the door, she was unsure when, or if she'd ever see him again.

_"I love you, Douglas…"_ She shook her head and wiped a tear as Bridget came over to her and hugged her. Bridget actually had been hiding out beside the private room, not listening, but making sure nothing was happening. No sexual sounds had been heard, just talking. When she saw Carly and Douglas walk out and kiss, she knew it was just love. She wouldn't tell anyone what happened, but she'd be there for Carly.

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><p>Aww romantic chapter. Blah. Haha, hope you enjoyed this, especially the little tidbit there towards the end. So nice to know Douglas and Carly made up.<p> 


	37. Cooking With Val

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 37 (Cooking with Val)<p>

"So you saw him lurking around the house yesterday?" Jonah, Valerie, and Sam were seated on the couch in the living room. Jonah had his right arm around Valerie's shoulders and Sam was leaning back in her cushion. She tried to think of what he looked like, but Douglas definitely paused for a moment and spotted her. She hadn't seen or heard from him since. "If he comes around aga-" A rough, single knock came at the door and Jonah let out a deep sigh. He looked to Valerie, who gave him a sweet smile.

"You going to answer that, baby?"

"Yep." With a grunt, he stood and moved towards the door. Sam and Valerie stood and faced the door and frowned when Jonah opened it and Douglas was standing on the front step. His eyes were hazy and his hair looked windswept and disorderly. It was like he didn't sleep at all through the night. He had some light stubble on his chin and was sweating. Jonah narrowed his eyes and the girls froze up. "What do _you_ want? You're not going to get Sam, we want you to know that."

"I know, that's sort of why I'm here...Hear me out." Douglas wasn't one to admit wrong, but it was what Carly wanted and he wasn't going to displease her. He looked to Sam and locked eyes with her. "I spoke to Carly last night." Sam's eyes grew and she all of a sudden wanted to hear what he had to say. Jonah looked back at her, questioning whether he should slam the door in this man's face or not. She lifted her hand up and motioned for Douglas to continue on. "She told me this, and I'm going to follow her wishes, she told me to leave you alone." Sam breathed in and felt the pulsations of her heart growing steadily. "I don't expect you to forgive me for the hurt I put you through, and I didn't come here to beg for forgiveness."

"You're not the begging type, anyways, Doug." Sam crossed her arms and Douglas chuckled lightly. She turned her eyes downwards, unsure what to say to him. The kick was that he talked to Carly, so he must know where she was. "Why did you dump her anyway, Douglas?" He frowned and turned his eyes to the side, he was still on a high from the prior night. It didn't take sex to make a relationship, it was time, and some other strange feelings that he couldn't make out.

"There are some things, Sam, that you shouldn't know. Some things you shouldn't worry about. If it wasn't dangerous, I would tell you and I'd tell you where Carly was too, but as it stands…" He turned his head to the side and peered down the road, his throat clinching to his breath. In the distance was one of the gang members walking down the street. He clenched his teeth together and took a step back. "It's far too dangerous for you, or even for Carly, to be around me right now. I only wanted to inform you that you will not be seeing me again for a while, that I'm leaving you to your own devices. You can quit pornography if you want to, it's not my place to try and force you to stay. Anyway, I have to go…bye."

"Wait." Douglas had already turned and was hurrying down the street, going away from the gang member. He didn't want to get into a brawl here, that would attract unnecessary attention. Sam lowered her eyes and attempted to absorb his words. Why was it dangerous? Maybe she'd never know. Jonah carefully shot the door and looked back at the two, he was confused as they likely were, but if Douglas was really set on leaving Sam alone, then all the more power to him. "Did you hear him? He talked to Carly, so he knows where she's at…"

"Yeah, but don't you start stalking _him_ and trying to figure out where she is." Sam chuckled nervously as Jonah walked towards Valerie with a subtle smirk. "So Val, are you ready to do your new webshow today?" Valerie's eyes slanted as she stared carefully at her fiancé, she wanted to sack him. Sam, Derek, Jonah, Melanie, and even Freddie all agreed that she should take Sam's idea and start up a webshow on cooking tips. She fought it tooth and nail, but they were persistent, so she finally caved in. Jonah wrapped his arm around Valerie's shoulder and gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Don't worry Valerie, I'll make sure nobody brings up any hard memories. If anyone so much as messes with you, I'll kick their ass. Simple as that." Sam laughed and Valerie's eyes quickly darted towards her.

"I believe him too when he says that, so you're in the clear Val. You have me as well to stick up for you, even though I know people won't be so friendly towards me either…" Derek, Freddie, and Jonah were all going to stick up for her. Both of the girls, they would stand up for. Freddie and Melanie would not be appearing in the webshow, but they would help in any way they could. Jonah would be using the camera to record the girls, while Derek might actually make some guest appearances here and there to taste test the food. To him, that was bliss. Tasting the food that Valerie prepared was like tasting heaven. "You have the dish you're going to prepare for the first show, don't you?"

"Yes. The meal and the dessert…" She didn't want to admit to being petrified, though everyone knew she was. Melanie, Freddie, and Derek were on their way over now, so they just had to wait for them. She was going to opt to already have an end result prepared like the chefs on the food channel usually did, but Sam said they could prepare it and talk, or even give some advice while they wait for the meals to be prepared. It would be fun. Valerie preferred her way, because she was too wary about letting people connect with her, but she was willing to try. "Veal Marsala and the Classic Tiramisu…can't go wrong with those choices."

"Have I ever mentioned how much you amaze me, Val?" Valerie laughed nervously and shifted towards the couch. She was still not comfortable, but she figured she'd get comfortable.

"Have I mentioned that if I suffer an emotional breakdown because of this, then that leaves you to cook the food all by yourself? As well as kitchen cleanup?" Sam chuckled nervously and smiled as she sat next to Valerie and hugged her.

"You'll be _fine_. Don't let a little fear get you down, Val."

"A _little_ fear? Oh dear Sam, this isn't just a _little_ fear, this is…I'm really scared that I'm going to be laughed at and people are going to start belittling me again!"

"And that's what we're all going to be here for, Val. We won't let that happen." The doorbell chimed and Valerie looked up from the couch. Sam grinned and stood up. "They're here! Jonah, grab the door!"

"I got it." He opened the door and their three friends walked in, all greeting them happily. "Hey guys, nice of you to join us. Valerie's nervous." Derek shook his head and Melanie walked over to Valerie, who was glaring at Jonah. She didn't want all that attention. Melanie gave her a hug and smiled into her eyes.

"Valerie, don't be nervous, we're here for you okay? Think about it this way too, not only is this a good way for you to show other people how to make delicious foods, but Sam's going to be your assistant. This will be a good way for people to see her in a more respectable light again! That's going to be good for her reputation." Sam grinned and Valerie slowly smiled. She would love to do something good like that for her, so she'd definitely go through with it. Valerie looked over to Derek and stood erect, mentally preparing herself. She was going to ignore the fact that she was on camera and just talk like she was talking to Jonah or Sam.

"Derek, do you have the Marsala wine from your brother?" Derek nodded and lifted a bottle of wine.

"He had to go find it at Walmart, but he got it. He says he's going to watch and has all his friends and Air Force buddies watching it too." Jonah moved over to Valerie and placed his elbow upon her shoulder, grinning brightly.

"Try not to think of all the viewers you're going to have, but you'll have plenty. All my coworkers are going to tune in to watch, Freddie sent a message out to all the iCarly fans, so they're watching." Valerie paled and lightly smacked Jonah on the back of the head. He laughed and hugged her tight. "You're going to be just fine, Val."

Freddie smirked gently and pat her shoulder while walking into the kitchen, hopefully Jonah had set everything up. "I have a surprise for you, anyway Val. I think you're going to be ecstatic when you see." Valerie lifted her eyebrows and followed Freddie into the kitchen, everyone walked in after her.

"What 'surprise' do you have?"

"Not going to tell you until the time's right." She pouted momentarily and shrugged as she and Sam made their way into the cooking area of the kitchen. She watched nervously as Jonah, Derek, and Freddie set up all the technical items. Sam rubbed her friend's back, trying to comfort her. Valerie was even more nervous by the projector and screen that the boys had placed in an unused corner of the kitchen. Evidently it was needed for people to appear through the webcam and the people could record that person. The camera was positioned on a moving tripod, which made free movement easy.

"I swear..." Valerie leaned forward and pressed her palms lightly on the counter. She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. Nightmares, horrid memories were hitting her violently. She almost couldn't handle the flashbacks. "Sam, you remember…after the whole thing with iCarly?" Valerie looked up and watched everyone talking and fiddling with the camera. Sam watched them and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, didn't some guy actually ask you out about a week after?"

"Yeah…" She wiped her eye and glanced towards the side. She was only thirteen then, the iCarly group was twelve. The guy that asked her out was fifteen. It was right after her mother had returned from overseas and was confined to a wheelchair. "Mom being in that wheelchair made me do a lot of things I shouldn't have done, and one was using Freddie, being jealous of you guys. The guy that asked me out…he did almost the same thing, using me just to get something he wanted. I started cooking something for him, he wanted to taste it, and he went behind my back and stole it for some stupid eating competition. That was just one thing he did…he hurt me like that. Many people hurt me. They would threaten me, they would spit in my drinks, they'd call me names, and sometimes they actually got physical about it. It got so bad that I just didn't want to show my face anymore." Sam slowly looked to the ground and gave Valerie a tight hug. "This whole thing, it's just bringing back all those painful memories. What if people come in and start in on me again?"

"They won't…besides, Freddie and Melanie already put up information basically alerting people that they needed to be casual about this." Sam placed her hand over Valerie's soothing her restless soul. "Just pretend you're cooking a meal for your idol, Rachael Ray." Valerie's eyes widened and her heart jumped high.

"Oh my god! Do you _know_ how awesome that would be?" Sam laughed as Valerie began to grow excited. "I mean I'd be nervous, but that's just…that'd be the best thing to happen!"

"If you she were right here, right now, would you be worried?" Valerie quickly shook her head and straightened her shoulders. She knew that if her idol were there, she'd have to put out all of her worries.

"I would want to, _have_ to impress her. There's no question about that. I'd have to do well, I couldn't let all those little things get to me."

"Then imagine she's right here, okay? Take a deep breath, relax, and present for your idol." Valerie's eyes widened and she slowly nodded her head. She understood, and besides, Sam had enough worries too. After all, she was the one escaping from a lifestyle of pornography that now the entire world knew about.

"Okay, you girls ready?" The two looked over to see the guys standing next to the camera. Melanie grinned and gave them a thumbs up for good luck. Sam nodded in reply and Valerie swallowed. It was now or never. Jonah looked to Freddie and smirked. "All right techie, you want to give the countdown?"

"Sure. In five, four, three, two-" He snapped his fingers and Jonah clicked on the camera. Valerie took a deep breath and Sam looked at her friend with a smile. She wasn't sweating, she appeared very calm and collected. However, there was a very tiny shake, as if she were fighting to push her internal feelings down.

"Hi, I'm Valerie Williams-Brown. I'm not married yet, but my fiancé is Jonah Brown. He's behind the camera right now. Wave to the camera, honey!" Expecting him to turn the camera around, she frowned when he merely put his hand in front and waved. She put her hands to her hip and stared at him. "Thanks for the encouragement."

"Any time sweetie." He laughed once and Sam snickered. Valerie clicked her tongue to her cheek and looked at her blond friend with a smirk.

"And this is my best friend, Sam Puckett. You know her from iCarly." Sam froze and cleared her throat, she hadn't quite expected that to happen. "She's going to be my assistant for this webshow. This is Valerie's Kitchen Tips, I'll be showing you how to make great food. My idol is Rachael Ray, you may recognize her."

"She's the lady off the food channel in case you're wondering. She's always cheery and one of the best chefs there. Emeril step back." Sam applauded and Valerie laughed once. She actually liked Emeril as a chef too, he did pretty well. The other one she liked was the guy off of Man VS Food. "Now, I want to make one thing clear before we continue. This is a respectable show, so no funny business. You may have hurt Valerie in the past, may have done things to her or may feel the urge to ridicule her, or even myself, _do not_. I won't warn you again. Her fiancé, Jonah, _will_ come after you if you do." Valerie's face turned beet red as Sam rounded the counter and turned the camera onto Jonah. He looked at the camera with a bored, yet imposing glare. Derek stood next to him and smirked as he pointed his thumb to his chest.

"I'm Derek Beckett, their close friend and the one who gets Sam to her Monday sessions with her counselor." Sam blushed as Derek narrowed his eyes. "You mess with either girl, you can expect to be seeing either Jonah, myself, or both of us at your door. So think hard before you open your big mouth."

"Right. Thanks for that, Derek…" Sam crossed her arms and leaned against the counter which was full of the initial supplies Valerie needed for the food. Jonah turned the camera to her as Valerie leaned forward against the counter. "I know most of you know about…my recent past. I've let a lot of people down, hurt a lot of people, dishonored my family and lost their respect. I'm not like that at all…I'm really not." Everyone held their breaths as she spoke, each wanting to make sure she would be okay. They knew she would be, because they were all there for her. She knew if she fell, they would catch her. "I don't expect you to like me, I don't expect you to believe me either…but I will say that I am done with that life…_forever_."

She moved her hand to Valerie and smiled through her tears. She had been trying to conceal them, but it had become difficult to do so. "Valerie and Jonah have let me stay with them, and I'm…I'm getting all the help I need." She turned back to the camera and tangled her pinkies together at her waist. "I'm getting the help. It's hard to get rid of an addiction like this, like a drug, but I'm trying. Yes, iCarly's over now…Carly's…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know where Carly is. She was kicked out by Spencer, they just gave up on her…Anyway, I love to help Valerie cook, and this show is about her, so I want you to try and get over your biases and please watch…learn…and enjoy. You'll be learning a lot of great foods!" Valerie smiled and wiped her eye. She felt better now, it was like she'd just been lifted onto an entirely different plane. "If you have any opinions on either my past or Valerie's past, then keep them to yourself if they're not good ones."

Sam moved over to Valerie and beckoned her to begin. Valerie smiled and gave Sam a quick hug, then introduced the show. "Okay, so Sam convinced me to do this. I wanted to have a dish already prepared, but she said we should do this so while the food is preparing, we can talk. First, my specialty is Italian food. Yes, I'm Italian. Well, part Italian. My dad is full blood Italian due to his parents coming from Italy. I'll always remember growing up and going over to Grandma's home and she would always show me how to make the best foods!"

"Man, I'm jealous, you got Italian food every _day!_" Valerie laughed as Sam crossed her arms and smiled. "So you'll be making some Italian food for us today?" Sam looked over to Freddie, who was messing with the projector while Melanie was typing on the computer. He had a devious, knowing smirk upon his face. Sam grinned inwardly and looked to Valerie happily, she was in for the shock of her life. Freddie still had his iCarly power in him. They were about to shoot their ratings and viewers up on the first day.

"Yes, I'm going to be making a delicious veal marsala, and I'm adding a delicious dessert you may have heard of. It's a classic Tiramisu. Now remember with the veal, if you don't get the sauce just perfect, it's going to be thin and bland. Everything must be perfect when you make this dish. This dish takes mushrooms and Marsala wine, which we have right here." Valerie moved her hand along the counter and pointed to the wine with a smile. "It takes ten minutes to prepare, so it's real easy. It takes about thirty minutes to cook and can be ready in thirty minutes."

"Sounds delicious, Val. I can't wait to try it." Valerie smiled appreciatively and gave Sam a thoughtful look.

"Just remember you're helping me prepare, so you have something extra to feel proud about when this meal is finished."

"Awesome! Tell me about the Tiramisu, Val!" Sam licked her lips as an unconscious habit, she was trying to avoid salivating. She hadn't even started preparing yet and she was already eager to eat. Could she help it if she loved food? The projector flipped on, but Valerie hadn't noticed it yet. Jonah had the camera positioned well enough that all the viewers could see who was on the screen, using a small laptop webcam while sitting in the back of a car. Sam looked back slightly and grinned with everyone else as Valerie turned her attention to the camera.

"Okay, as you can see by the dishes and items already out…" She had her eggs, her sugar, a chocolate bar, grater, pans, ladyfingers, everything she needed to prepare both the tiramisu and veal. "This involves chocolate."

"Oh god I love chocolate…You're so cruel to me Val, making me have to work with chocolate and _not_ eat it yet." Valerie grinned brightly as Jonah stifled a laugh. Sam did a little slapstick dance and posed for the camera while Valerie laughed. She was really starting to feel more and more at ease, but she was still afraid of someone coming on and ridiculing her.

"Well this is a delectable dessert made from ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese, and you have little chocolate curls that are to decorate the top. If done right, this will come out _beautifully_. My grandmother always made this best. Now, what you see in most restaurants where you see a simple square is not _always_ the case. As you see here, we have a trifle bowl and a springform pan…" She pointed to the two pans and started explaining. The person on the screen nodded and listened with anticipation, impressed by Valerie's explanation. As she was going on, she was explaining every detail, and that was very important. However, she felt she could make a suggestion, and if Valerie was an Italian specializing chef, she would not possibly be without spices.

"Can I make a suggestion, Valerie?" Valerie froze and her eyes popped out of her head as the others all let the sun glint off their teeth. She stared at Jonah, then Freddie, and her lips slowly parted. They didn't, she couldn't believe they would do that. She cleared her throat and slowly turned her head to the screen. Right there on a laptop webcam was her idol and favorite chef in the entire world, Rachael Ray! Rachael smiled brightly and waved at her, causing Valerie to nearly collapse to her feet. Thinking fast, she regained her composure and turned fully to her idol.

"Miss Ray, I…How?"

"Well simple, your fiancé and his friend called my office and told me about this. I thought since you were an aspiring chef and liked to base your cooking off of me, I'd tune in."

"Oh my god…" Valerie turned her eyes to Jonah and smiled at him. She loved him so much right now. He lifted his hand and wagged his eyebrows.

"You can kiss me later."

"Yeah, I'll think about that." She turned her eyes back to her idol and slowly nodded. "What's your suggestion?"

"Well, since you're an Italian chef, then I would think you wouldn't be without spices."

"Of course not, I have a whole cabinet of various spices and ingredients." Rachael nodded politely and smiled.

"Then when you mix that wine into there, which, by the way, how are you going to do that?"

"Pouring it from the bottle, you want to keep the concentration and consistency, pouring it into a glass is not the best idea."

"Good thinking! Anyhow, do you have any Saffron? If you add just a pinch of it, it'll give the sauce some extra flavor." Valerie tapped her chin and her eyes grew a bit, that was right, saffron had an excellent flavor. A little goes a long way. She hurried to her spice cabinet and got the saffron out. Her car stopped and she smiled lightly. "Alright, I'm here…"

"Okay, I have the saffron, do you have any more suggestions?" Valerie looked to the screen and frowned, Rachael had gone off. The doorbell chimed and she looked towards the living room. Melanie rushed out to answer the door. Within seconds, Melanie entered with Rachael herself. Valerie's jaw fell and that time she practically fell over, catching herself. "H-How are you actually here?"

Jonah had the answer for that. "Well Miss Ray was in town, trying out one of the restaurants here when we called her up. She said she'd love to see you in person, and here she is."

"Oh my god…" Valerie walked to the counter and set the ingredients down. She looked at Sam and chuckled nervously, almost whispering to her. "Sam, slap me. My idol's in my kitchen…slap me now."

"Careful, I might actually do that."

"And I might actually make you sit out of the meal." Sam gasped and turned to Valerie.

"You wouldn't!" Valerie smirked and wagged her eyebrows and Sam huffed. The others laughed and Rachael walked up to Valerie, extending her hand. Valerie took her hand and smiled at her.

"It's great to actually meet you in person, Miss Ray. It's like a dream come true." Rachael smiled and nodded kindly, she was going to enjoy helping out and seeing how Valerie cooked.

After the food was done and the webshow was over, everyone was enjoying a slice of the tiramisu. The veal had come out perfectly, with an extra kick. The tiramisu was almost perfect as well. Freddie was going over the comments on the video, most of them were great, uplifting comments, and not a one was negative towards the girls' pasts. He was impressed.

Many comments encouraged Sam to succeed in curbing her problem, many were happy that Valerie was living a great, happy life. Also, a lot of viewers had come on when Rachael did. Many wanted to try the meal that was prepared, and almost every comment said they wanted to see another episode. This day just couldn't get any better.

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><p>I hope you liked that chapter, and even with a guest appearance from a famous chef, whoo ^_^.<p> 


	38. Reflections of Men

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 38 (Reflections of Men)<p>

Jonah watched as Rachael and Valerie exchanged food tips as well as personal numbers, Valerie's idol was now going to become a mentor for her. He took a bite of the heavenly dish and leaned back with a smile on his face. Freddie nudged him and pointed at the screen with a chuckle and Jonah read, his eyebrows rising as he read a comment.

_Good job taming that Jonah kid after all these years. He loves you and won't ever cheat on you, we can tell, so if you ever worry about his past or he worries about it, just remember…you're in the present and you're building your future!_

"That's a nice comment."

"Yeah Jonah, it's true. Those girls really did a number on us guys." Jonah laughed once as he and Freddie looked to their respective girlfriends. What was it about women? They always had the power to dig deep inside and change them, it was strange. Jonah had once indeed been the wild type when he was twelve or thirteen, he never knew the value of settling down. Now, due to Valerie, she was his one and only.

Freddie could say similarly of Melanie. One thing Freddie always had trouble with when he was really young was being a stalker type. It was creepy as hell, and everyone told him, but he never truly got it. "What is it about women, hm?" Valerie and Melanie looked to their men and smiled sweetly at them. Any smile, any glance, it just made them feel as though they were on air. So sweet, so bubbly, and always with the biggest of hearts. Freddie stood from his seat and lifted the laptop. "I'm going to go work on the laptop for a bit." Melanie reached up and took his hand, then slowly rested the side of her head to his hand. He bent over and kissed her lips. "I love you Mel." Once she said she loved him back, he made his way into the kitchen to rest. Jonah finished off the tiramisu and gradually stood, gazing lovingly at his fiancé. Her every smile, her every joy, it was the cause of his happiness. She just made him an all-around better person. Everything he did, he did for her. Everything he did, he did so he could support her. Valerie looked up at him with loving eyes.

"How did you enjoy it?"

"It was perfect, just like you." She blushed lightly as he kissed her lips and rose up. "I'm going to work out for a while, let you girls chat."

"Okay honey." He smiled at her and made his descent into the basement. This left Derek by himself. As he watched Sam, he thought about her plight. He admired her strength for trying to fight this porn issue, and he honestly thought she was doing well. He did wonder sometimes about getting to know her a little better, but he wasn't too sure. Deciding he really didn't want to be the only guy left in the room, he moved out into the living room to read a book.

Far away, Douglas stood on a little dirt patch beside a road, he had his hands on the railing that prevented people from falling several hundred feet below. He was gazing out at the sunset as the wind blew through his hair. This was an area he loved so much, and the small dirt road was actually hidden from the main road, so no one really ever came here.

His mind drifted off to Carly in her iCarly days. Before he met her, he really had been rough and wild. Granted he wasn't involved in the gang, but he might have been had he not met her to begin with. Nobody really knew how long he'd known her for, they kept their relationship under wraps for several years. Only because he didn't want her friends to see the way he was and get a bad impression. Not like it mattered much now, but even still, he had subdued quite a bit.

Freddie, Jonah and Douglas gazed upwards and started to let their minds wander. Taming of the beast, usually a circus act of a lion tamer with a whip, keeping a lion at bay. More often than not, that lion tamer had been a man. In them, however, it had been a woman to tame that beast. Each man chuckled to themselves. What was with women? No. Love. That had to be the one answer, because only those women would go through the ends of the earth for them or be as patient with them as they were. _Maybe it was love_.

_Fourteen year old Jonah Brown shuffled his feet across the school grounds. He'd been known as a 'player' for a year now because of what he did to Sam Puckett. He didn't care, though. People started threatening him, but he threatened right back. He needed them to cut him some fucking slack._

_ He wore a black muscle shirt with skull and crossbones, his jeans were black denim and he had chains going from his belt loops to his pocket. He was only slightly muscular now, didn't often work out too much. Frankly, he was too busy beating the shit out of people who fucked with him to work out. Yes, he felt the guilt for trying to kiss Carly when he was dating Sam. Yes, the wedgie bounce was absolutely necessary, and no matter how many times Freddie tried to tell him otherwise, he didn't listen._

_ Freddie was his good friend, had been for a while. He was the first to notice a change in Jonah after the incident occurred. It wasn't a good change either, he just seemed to be changing for the worst. There was no way he could think to stop this metamorphosis. Though Jonah did have a beef with even him, that Freddie had been more concerned that he tried to kiss Carly than Sam. _

Jonah grunted as he started benching a grand total of two hundred and fifty pounds. His chest rose and fell sharply and his body was sweating. He'd done a few reps already. After he finished with that set, he moved over to the dumbbells and lifted up two eighty pounders. He then proceeded to do alternating arm curls, grunting with each curl.

Freddie typed on his computer and moved the mouse to his 'favorite' section on the bookmarks. His eyes moved down the long list to the 'self-help' folder. He lifted his eyebrows curiously and pulled the corner of his lip back. He'd not seen that in years. He hovered over it and found a list of sites for stalkers. His brow furrowed and he moved his head back against the couch, closing his eyes tightly.

_ Fifteen__ year old Freddie Benson sat outside his door, staring at the apartment of Carly Shay. They'd had a pretty big argument about his attraction to her. They called it absurd, abnormal, and even Spencer had some words to say. He was going overboard. Was he becoming a monster? Sam called him a stalker, Carly called him a creep, and Spencer even called him criminal! Granted, Spencer actually said some of his actions were borderline criminal, but Freddie still interpreted it as Spencer calling him a criminal._

_ He was just concerned about Carly, that was all. What was the harm in being concerned? She'd been dating a 'bad boy' named Griffin, and he didn't trust him. So he spied on them. What was the harm in that? So he stalked their dates, so he hid in the bushes. Hell, even T-Bo at the groovy smoothie called the cops on him, not knowing it was him, but he'd seen someone lurking about outside. That was actually what the fight had been about._

_ His mother was perhaps the angriest with him, she didn't raise him this way. Stalkers grew up to be murderers, rapists, or at the very least, very dangerous people. He should know better. These were the things she said to him. Yet to him, they seemed to bounce off of him as though he were a trampoline._

_ It was getting so bad that Carly was starting to _fear_ him. He wasn't dangerous? He hadn't done anything. Okay, so he threatened most guys that came around her, whether to their faces or while Carly was around and they weren't. So it got to the point that even Sam, as tough as she was, stayed away from him. She would tease him, trip him, do anything to keep him at bay. That was in the daytime though. Sam didn't even come around him at night for some reason. Well, his moods did become worse at night._

_ Maybe he shouldn't be staring at her door right now, wondering if she'd come out. He would never hurt her, at least he didn't think he would. He wouldn't go crazy like a gang member would, so he knew he wasn't dangerous. _

Freddie rolled his neck to the side and turned his eyes to the kitchen, smiling softly. He turned back to the computer and stared at the bookmark, he wouldn't need that anymore, anyway. He moved his mouse over to it and deleted it happily.

_Seventeen year old Douglas Madison fought in the backyard with his brothers, they were kicking him into the dirt and grinding him into the pavement. At the very least, this taught him to be resilient and strong. They kept wanting him to join the gang lifestyle, but his father never seemed to let him. He thought about it, he honestly considered it several times, but was never positive. So, until he made a decision, his brothers would beat him into a bloody pulp._

_ He spit blood out and ran towards the side of his house, breathing heavily and glaring as his brothers searched the yard for him. One day, one day he would beat the shit out of them for once. He wiped his mouth with his arm and looked to the side where a pile of wooden planks were. It was a dirty move, something the gang would do, but it was the only way to stop his brothers._

_ "Come on Douglas, we just want to initiate you into the group, it's not so bad once you get used to it!" Alonzo shouted out for his little brother to come out of hiding, but that didn't seem to be happening. "Look, you'll love it. You get all the money in the world."_

_ Douglas already tried the drugs, he already knew the violence, but he didn't know too much else about the gang. He saw Raul walking towards the corner of the building and he grasped the wooden plank with his hands. He let out a shout and ran for Raul, raising the board into his hand. Raul laughed and swirled around, crashing his fist into Douglas's abdomen. Douglas's eyes widened and the board went flying into the air as he crumpled to the ground. He would have to get stronger. No question about it._

Just when things seemed bad, just when things could only get worse and they could practically sink no lower without causing serious damage, that's when an angel turned it around. That's when there became something better, someone who actually cared.

_Jonah prowled the hallways and heard a girl screaming and crying, the sound stopped him in his tracks and he felt a chill run down his spine. It was a sound he'd heard many times before whenever he would pummel some prick who tried to mess with him. Only this time, it struck his very core. _

_ He clenched his hands and ran around the corner to see an innocent girl sitting against a locker with an afro haired kid and a brown jacket stomping on her and shouting at her, calling her all sorts of obscenities. He looked like he might have been her boyfriend. Well that was no way for a guy to treat his girlfriend. Sure, he was one to talk, he'd _cheated_ on his, but he knew already that he'd never make that same mistake again._

_ He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and turned him around, glaring darkly into his eyes. The boy paled when he saw who had him. Jonah clenched his fists tightly and narrowed his eyes. "Back off before I tear out your throat." The boy did just that, turned tail and ran. Jonah knelt next to the girl, he recognized her now. Valerie! His heart ached as he put his arm around her shoulders. She was a sobbing wreck, not to mention she was broken. "Hey, hey, it's okay Valerie…you're okay…"_

_ "Why is it every guy is violent? Why?" Jonah's heart sank and he lifted his eyes to the sky. He didn't know the answer to that, but he knew one thing was certain, violence may not always be the answer. _

_ "Let me help you to the nurse…"_

_ "It's okay, I'll deal…" She wiped her eyes and sighed. "Mom and Dad want to transfer me to another school, maybe even move if this keeps up." Jonah's eyes widened and he pressed his lips tightly together. She was an old friend of his, he didn't want to see her go. "I made a single mistake, and now nobody gives a shit about me."_

_ "Whoa…now a girl like you using that kind of language?" She huffed and looked to the side as he slowly wiped her tears with his shirt. "Hey now, I care."_

_ "Yeah, until you become one of them…you're just as bad now…" Her words burned him, stabbed at him. He bowed his head guiltily and closed his eyes. _

_ "Maybe I can convince you to stick around and convince your parents not to make you leave. I'll keep those dumbasses from hurting you. It's wrong, you should be allowed to live your life, not be belittled all the time. Now come on…" Jonah lifted her up and smiled kindly at her. "I won't hurt anyone else unless they hurt you, okay? I'll be your personal bodyguard."_

_ "Oh right, and what do I do in return for that?" She smirked lightly and Jonah smirked in return. It had been a while for both of them. Once he realized it had been her, he knew the guy there hadn't been her boyfriend. At least not a current one. He would show her that she didn't have to give up, as she felt like doing just that. _

_ "There's someone out there who cares about you and won't hurt you. Maybe you would go on a date with him?" She scoffed and rolled her pain filled eyes._

_ "And who would that be?"_

_ "Me…" Valerie nearly stumbled at that and looked to his eyes. His soft, soft eyes. "Maybe if you gave me a chance, we could be good together. Who knows? Me and you, two people that the school seems to be against. I can change, I'm not how I used to be."_

_ "We'll see, but…let's say something happens between us. I want to be secure with you, I want to know you'd never cheat on me and you'd never hurt me."_

_ "Valerie, if you give me that chance, I can promise you. I will never hurt you and I will never cheat on you." Her lips curled into a small smile and she slowly nodded her head, she'd be glad to give him a chance._

_ "Good, I know a great first date. I'll cook for you!" _

Jonah praised the lord for that one little moment when he saw her in that hallway. He was actually skipping class, something he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that day or not. He wouldn't have done it, wasn't going to, but the lecture had become boring and he slipped right on out.

_Freddie felt a hand upon his shoulder and he glanced up to see Melanie looking at him. He frowned as she sat beside him. "Sam says you're scaring everyone. I'm sorry you're being ostracized like this."_

_ "It's my own damn fault for following Carly around." Melanie slowly nodded and leaned her head against Freddie's apartment door. "I'm surprised you're even coming around me."_

_ "I'm not afraid of you. I think you could be a bit less assertive and maybe tone it down around Carly, that's all. Doesn't she say she doesn't want a relationship?"_

_ "Yeah, I don't know why it's hard for me to get it…"_

_ "Seems like maybe you already have." He shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes. He knew he had a problem, but he didn't know how to get out of it. He was becoming obsessed with her, maybe he thought his obsession would cause her to like him, who knew._

_ "I am a stalker, Mel. I am a grade A, obsessed stalker." Melanie rolled her eyes and placed her hands to his cheeks, dragging his eyes to hers. _

_ "Listen to me, you are not a stalker. You might be building yourself into one, but you can stop yourself. You've already acknowledged it as a problem, now you just need that friend…" She placed her hand on his and smiled at him. His heart fluttered about and his stomach let out a small contented growl. She was right, he needed help, and maybe she could help him._

And help him she did. She gave him those sites, walked him through his feelings and everything. One thing led to another and he stopped his obsessive tendencies and asked her out on a date. When that happened, everything had changed for him. He would never take for granted that very moment in the hallway.

Eventually, he shed himself of his past, Carly and Sam became friendly with him when Melanie molded him into a more passive and caring person. She'd never know just how grateful of her he was for that, or just how much he loved her. He needed her, just as Jonah needed Valerie, he needed her.

_Douglas walked through the cold streets until he spotted Carly Shay walking in his direction. She waved at him and quickly moved over to him, he was wounded and a bit bloody from his fight with his brothers. She wanted to check and make sure he was okay. "Hey, what happened? Do you need help?"_

_ "No, I'm fine. It's just a little wound." _

_ "Just a little wound? Are you serious? Come with me!" She grabbed his arm and started pulling him. He winced and raised his eyebrow. What did she care if he was cut up? She'd never met him before. People were not this kind._

_ The more he struggled, the tighter her grip became, and the more pain he exerted. He finally just gave in and let her drag her into her apartment. Spencer wasn't home, but that was fine. "You trust me enough to bring you home?"_

_ "Well you didn't seem like the type to hurt someone like me. I go off of intuition." He raised his eyebrow as she dragged him into the bathroom and sat him down on the counter. "Now take off your shirt."_

_ "But-"_

_ "Take it off." He rolled his eyes and lifted his shirt up. Carly gasped as she saw the cuts and bruises all over his chest. "Oh my god, what happened?" Here it comes. This was the life of a gang member. Every time someone saw those wounds, they were associated with violence, and they ran. He would probably never actually have a girlfriend because of that fact. All the gang wanted to do was recruit prostitutes. _

_ "My brothers…that's all…" She didn't run, she didn't push him out the door. Instead, she got a container of cotton balls, alcohol pads, and gauze. He raised his eyebrow as she looked into his eyes. There a connection sparked, he wasn't sure what it was, but oddly it was an attractive connection._

_ "My neighbor's a nurse, so I always seem to get a constant supply of first aid stuff. My brother's constantly hurting himself anyway…" She dabbed a cotton ball with alcohol and touched it to his wound. He let out a single grunt and moved his eyes to the side. Her eyebrows lifted up and she smirked subtly. "I'm impressed. I dated a 'tough guy' type and when he got alcohol on a wound, he screamed."_

_ "Yeah well, I don't scream when it comes to pain. Sorry to disappoint." He smirked at her and she laughed. He watched as she calmly doctored all of his wounds. She was pretty, very pretty. He tilted his head to the side and pressed his lips tightly together. This kindness she was showing him, why was she doing it? "Nobody's ever really…bothered with this type of thing. Cleaning up my wounds and actually giving a damn about me."_

_ "You make it sound like you get beat up often." Carly__ closed her eyes and tossed the cotton swabs into the trash. He chuckled and turned his head to the side. Beat up often? _

_ "__I do not get beat up that much. I'm just saying…I've never had anybody actually treat me like this before."_

_ "Geez, you act as though you've never met a nice person before." His heart clenched and he turned his eyes towards the wall in front of him as she started wrapping a bandage around his wrist. In truth, no, he'd never met a nice person before. Not like this. She was nice, she was attractive, and she didn't run away at the sight of his wounds. He looked at her and smiled._

_ "My name is Douglas Madison. How about you?"_

_ "Carly Shay."_

_ "Nice to meet you. Has anyone ever told you you're an attractive girl?" She blushed and continued to bandage up his wounds. "I know we just met and all, but…" He lifted his free arm and rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe you'd like to hang out sometime? Like…a date, maybe? I don't mean it _has_ to be a _date_, date, just, well-" He was fidgeting like hell and it was blatantly obvious that he was nervous. He was afraid he was rushing it a bit, he just wanted to get to know her some more. Carly closed her eyes and smiled at him._

_ "Doug, have you ever been on a date before?"__ His lips pursed and his brow furrowed as he lowered his arm to rest on his leg. He bowed his head slightly and sighed._

_ "No."_

_ "Well don't be so nervous. You want to ask me out? We just met, I don't even know you. I'm shocked you didn't use a pick up line."_

_ "I don't do pick-up lines…" _

_ "One of the few." He laughed self-consciously and turned his eyes to the side. "Okay, so ask me out again, but don't be so nervous." He sighed and took a deep breath._

_ "I know we just met and all, and you're just being nice…I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime so we can get to know each other a little better?" She smiled brightly and closed her eyes._

_ "That's much better! Oh, and yes, I'll go out with you. I wouldn't mind getting to know you either." _

Douglas turned around to look at his car, it was getting low on fuel. He'd not really been at his house because he knew Carlos and his people could find him there. He had to stay elsewhere, wherever that was.

Over time, Carly taught him to look at the whole picture. She also showed him a few martial arts moves and told him where he could find a good instructor for him. After that, they just hit it off and became official. Maybe she fell in love with him, he might have fallen 'in love' with her. If that feeling in the pit of his stomach was love, then perhaps it was true.

All three men had one thing in common, they wouldn't give up their women for the world. As they reflected on their lives with their women, their hearts swelled to greater sizes. Valerie's patience, Melanie's sweetness, and Carly's kindness, these were the qualities that the men needed and they had received at just the right time. Now to these women, the men would swear their hearts and souls to for all eternity in life and death. They needed no reminders and their minds were made up, these girls would forever be their world and nothing would make them leave them.

Douglas smirked as he drove down the dirt path, heading for the nearest gas station. On his dashboard was a photograph of Carly. _"Well Carly…"_

Freddie closed the laptop down and set it aside. He stood up and let out a grunt as he stretched his arms out. His eyes moved to the kitchen as Melanie's melodious laughter came to his ears. _"Ah Melanie."_

Jonah looked up to the baseboards of the basement and smiled as he put the weights on the racks. His mind was still on Valerie and that delicious food. _"Valerie, I just got one thing to say."_

"Looks like you're stuck with me."

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><p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter, do feel free to leave a review.<p> 


	39. Workout for the Body and Soul

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Okay so I have no idea why someone would leave an anon review saying that my writing's lost it's "spark" and that I lost a fan without explaining what the hell just happened and leaving absolutely no way to contact the person...It doesn't bother me too much, but at the same time it really bugs me. I don't know, I'm psyching myself out, but whatever. Read the chapter and enjoy...

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><p>Chapter 39 (Exercise for the Body and Soul)<p>

Friday afternoon, at precisely two o'clock, Sam descended the steps of the basement. The smell of sweat came to her nose and she closed her eyes, breathing it in. The men had already begun working out. She wanted to join them, but was anxious and nervous about it. Valerie told her to just go down there and ask, that it wouldn't be difficult, they'd let her. As she turned the corner, she saw Jonah on the bench press, Freddie with the dumbbells, and Derek doing pushups. Her heart jumped as she eyed the men's sweat glistening muscles.

They were wearing white, blue, and black muscle shirts respectively, and back exercise shorts. Their muscles were not overly bulging, as the men didn't use anabolic steroids or anything, but she was definitely more aware of their muscles with the shirts than when they were usually dressed up. She had to say, she never imagined Freddie's arm to be as big as it was. Or his legs, for that matter. The same went for Jonah, and definitely for Derek. Her eyes drifted to Derek and she leaned calmly against the stairwells, breathing in slowly.

Now Derek, he was a hunk. She wanted to know how it felt with his arms wrapped around her, but her thoughts were more pure than lustful. She just wanted to know more about him, to spend more time with him. Melanie said it should be fine to date, but that was if she was ready. She didn't know, but she wasn't going to ask just yet. The boys glanced up from their positions and looked to Sam. Jonah sat up and grabbed his towel from his shoulders, wiping his face. The other two did the same. "What's up Sam?"

She quickly became attentive, having drifted off into a day dream of being embraced by Derek. She shook the pleasant visualization from her mind and smiled at the boys. "I-uh-Valerie told me I should come down here because…" She was at a loss of words, slowly growing redder. She was embarrassed due to the timing of their acknowledging her. Freddie raised up his eyebrow, Derek smirked, and Jonah blinked once. Sam cleared her throat and held her hands behind her back. She stretched forward, a way to regain her own composure, then continued on. "I want to work out and gain strength, stamina too, so Valerie told me to ask if I could join."

"Sure, don't see why not." Jonah rose up and grabbed his water bottle from the ground. He brought it to his lips and started drinking. Freddie set the dumbbells back on their rack and grabbed the spray bottle next to the bench. He then sprayed it down and wiped it smoothly with a rag. Jonah folded his arms over and tilted his head slightly left. "We just need to figure out where you are. You'll have to work out at our schedule, then after a while you can do your own time. Got it?" She nodded and looked over to Derek, who motioned her to walk over to them.

"Come on Sam, we won't bite."

"Oh shut it, you." She crossed her arms as he laughed once. She made her way over to the group and stood next to him. "So what is there to the whole weight thing? It's been a while…"

This time Freddie responded while setting the spray next to the bench. They'd have to actually pause for her first day, but it wasn't a problem. For them, they were just toning their muscles rather than building them up. "Well, there are six factors to a perfect workout routine: Frequency, weekly split and schedule, intensity, volume, exercises, and progression."

"Still the smart geek, huh?" Freddie closed his eyes and smiled, slightly offended.

"You want to build your muscles or not?"

"I do!" She nodded firmly in reply and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Then quiet down and listen." She pouted her lip and huffed. Satisfied, Freddie continued on. "Now the workout frequency is basically how many workouts you're going to do per week and how many times to train each muscle group during that week." Sam blinked and tried to think of the muscle groups. She knew the biceps, the triceps, the leg muscles, the chest, the back, and that was basically it. "As for how many workouts per week you should be doing, it's best to do three or four per week, they'll get the best possible. As for the muscle groups, since you're a beginner, you should train each group three times per week."

"So basically a full body workout?"

"Basically." Jonah sipped his water bottle once more as Derek stepped next to Sam and Freddie went on. "Do you know the muscle groups?"

"Somewhat…" Sam became distracted when Derek was behind her, she could feel the heat from his body touching her. She knew the muscles were what produced such heat, but damn, how much did these guys work out? "C-Can we just get on with the lecture?"

"Sure. Twice a week is best for the muscle groups. Anyway, the weekly split that we followed when we started was the three day full body split, which is basically Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, those are the full body workout. Every muscle is worked. We would go to the gym often for those. It's also the best split for beginners, best way to build muscle and increase strength too."

"I'll go with that one."

"Want me to explain the other alternatives?"

"No." Freddie chuckled and shrugged his shoulders while Jonah leaned up against a corner wall. "Well since you seem to know the muscle parts, Derek won't have to show you."

"Wait what?" She looked back as Derek started walking to the left of the room, grabbing his water bottle from the desk. Freddie smirked slowly and closed his eyes.

"I was going to have him show you where each muscle was located that needed to be worked out." Her eyebrows rose sharply and she quickly snapped her head back to Freddie.

"No wait, I don't know my muscles!" Derek and Jonah laughed once and Freddie slowly shook his head, still grinning brightly.

"Too late. Let me go over intensity now." Sam pouted her lower lip and Derek took a drink of his water bottle.

"Mean…"

"Nah, we're pretty nice once you get to know us." She rolled her eyes as Freddie flashed a smirk. She was pretty sure Jonah would be the stern and strict one, that was obvious. Freddie had a certain degree of sternness as well, but Derek seemed not to be all that stern. "Anyway, as far as workouts go, intensity is how heavy or light the weight you're lifting is. The heavier it is, the higher your intensity is and the less reps you're going to be able to do. The lighter, the lower your intensity and more reps you'll be able to do."

"Right, I remember that from weightlifting…Which I…haven't had in years…"

"That's fine, at least you know the basics." She nodded with slight enthusiasm as Freddie folded his arms over and spread his legs out, gaining comfort and airing out his body. "So you need to know how many repetitions you're going to do per set. Anywhere between one to twenty repetitions are a good basic to remember. Now let's break it down. If you're wanting to increase strength, one to six reps is best, but if you want to build muscle, do five to twelve reps per set. As far as muscular endurance goes, how long you can continually push yourself, ten to twenty reps is preferred."

"Okay, so basically five to twelve per set is best to start out with?" Freddie rubbed his chin and nodded.

"Yes, though we'll have to see where you are right now. You may want to just start with one to six…" Jonah cleared his throat and pushed himself from the wall.

"No offense, but if I can say something. The lifestyle you led probably had a negative effect on your body. I don't know that for a fact, so before we really can set an official intensity for you, we're going to need to know what you can handle and how _much_ you can handle."

"Right." Sam frowned and shifted her eyes downward. She hated to admit it, but the boys were right about that. At least she knew she was flexible now, but all that sexual stuff drained her. Her body was almost totally exhausted now. Freddie frowned as he looked to Sam, he tapped his foot on the ground and Derek placed his hand to Sam's left shoulder. She looked up to his eyes and smiled slightly.

"You all right, Sam? Don't get discouraged, just try to think about increasing your strength, okay?" She nodded slowly and felt her heart start to rise up slightly. It felt good to not feel alone, she was learning this. She really wanted to do this for her family. She'd not talked to her mom, dad, or aunts since she left their home. She wanted to, but she wasn't going to talk to them until she felt like she deserved to speak to them. Derek saw the sadness in her eyes and he squeezed gently on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "All right, let's just go over the volume."

"Would you go over that? Give Freddie a break from talking?" Freddie let out a chuckling scoff and looked over to Jonah who shook his head with a smile. Derek nodded and held his smile.

"Sure." He stepped back and Sam turned towards him, holding his eyes. "The volume's basically all the work you'll be doing per workout, week, exercise, or muscle group. All equally important. Freddie touched the other stuff, so the one you need to concern with most is the muscle group, these you have to be sure to work enough to get results but not too much to hurt."

"Okay…"

"So the sets for each muscle groups tend to differ. You know, five to twelve reps is good, the sets will be the number you're going to do. Hard to get an exact number, but the goals, experience, and ability to recover really helps. So I'll give you a good amount to go by."

Sam stood erect as Derek positioned two fingers on her left shoulder, then slid them down to the front and back of her upper arm. "These are the smaller muscle groups, the shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Since they're the smaller muscles, they need _less_ volume. At most, eight sets is the best to work them for. You also have the abdominals…which are right here." He pointed to her stomach muscles and she slowly nodded. "These, you can work until you can't do anymore. What's best here are sit-ups and crunches. We'll give you all the abdominal workouts in a bit…"

"Okay." He pointed his fingers to her ribcage and she begun to sweat, realizing that he was actually touching her. He then pointed towards the back muscles, the quads, and the hamstrings, explaining them all.

"The back, the quads and hamstrings, are all the larger muscles. These can range from eight to fifteen sets per week. Now what's best for you, considering you'd be a beginner here, you'll be doing three workouts a week on the full body, so that would mean three to five sets for the bigger muscles and half that for the smaller muscle groups would be best. This gives you the right amount of sets per week. I'd say stick in the middle, not the highest number. That'd be best."

"I'll remember that." She breathed in deeply as he stepped away from her and rubbed his chin slightly. Freddie turned around and lifted up a dumbbell and started to do some arm curls with it.

"So there's a lot of workout exercises to do, plenty of them. The bench press is one of the best. With Jonah's, you can lift it up to an incline level or a declining level, you can use the barbell or the dumbbells. I recommend using everything to the best ability. Anyways, we'll go over those with you in a little bit. Then there's progression, which comes out to be the most important of everything. You can't improve unless you actually _increase_ everything. For instance, if you continue to use the same reps and the same weights on the same exercises over and over, your body's just simply not going to improve. Over time, you need to be trying more reps with the same weight or the same number of reps with a heavier weight. For example, if you lift one hundred pounds on an exercise for eight reps, do nine the next time you perform that exercise. Got that?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Okay, so let's begin." Sam heard the clanking sound of a dumbbell being returned to the rack. She looked over to see Jonah and Freddie moving over to her. She was going to have a hell of a time, but she had the determination and the focus, she wasn't giving up, no matter how hard it seemed. To her, this was more important than a mere crush on one of Freddie and Jonah's friends, this was about regaining not only her strength, but her whole self. Her reputation was shot, everything was shot, and she was going to win it back no matter the cost. She _would_ make her family love her again.

She took a deep breath and slowly closed herd hands. Looking up, she saw the basement door still open, Valerie was watching with a smile. For now, this was her family. She smiled back and looked to the guys, each watching her with anticipation. "Yeah. I'm ready. Let's do this."

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><p>There, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Enjoy.<p> 


	40. Her Bleak Future

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 40 (Her Bleak Future)<p>

After the exercise, Sam was taking a shower and cleaning herself from all the toxic smells and sweat. The boys really got her into some strenuous workouts for her first session. Her body was bound to be incredibly sore the next day, and she felt very good about that. She didn't know what life was going to be like with the workout routine, but channeling all her energy and soul into something like that, all her pains and all her struggles, it really helped her out. She understood why Valerie had suggested Jonah workout back in the day when he was becoming an angry person. Once he started working out, that seemed to stop because all his anger was channeled into doing just that.

She lathered her body with soap and closed her eyes as she let the water cleanse her of her sweat. Her hair felt better when it was drenched with water and not sweat. All in all, the boys had come out smelling worse than she had. Jonah was in the other bathroom of the house taking his shower, Freddie and Derek had already showered off. Of course, all the guys took faster showers than she did, but she couldn't help it if she felt she had to be crystal clean. It didn't matter if her smell became better, or if the sweat was wiped away, she just always felt she couldn't erase the feeling of other people all over her.

With her eyes closed, she was certain she felt someone behind her, groping her and trying to push themselves inside. She had the same feeling in front of her, and felt numerous hands on her legs and arms. She had the feeling of tongues scraping over her body and moaned in frustration. Her eyes shot open and the hallucinations dispersed. Her breathing became hard as she placed her hand onto the wall and curled her fingers along the slick tile. Those nightmares, those terrors, they'd been much less prominent than they had been when she first quit pornography, but they were still there. At least when she wasn't focusing on them, they were. She knew she just needed to cope with the fact that those things were in the past, and she had to work towards her future, which seemed completely empty.

Sam turned off the water and stepped outside the shower, grabbing the towel from the counter. She frowned and dried herself off. What future did she have? Jonah already had all parts of an airplane and jets of all kinds memorized, he'd probably go on to become a fantastic engineer in the Air Force. Valerie already had a mentor and was already preparing for the second episode of her show, she was probably going to become a famous chef one day. Derek could become a military medical person or continue on to the air traffic control, he already had memorized practically everything on both sides. He had options.

Freddie was going to attend Seattle University with Melanie Freddie was going to major in Criminal Justice and become a high member of the law enforcement. He was going to do an incentive program with the law enforcement to be a police officer while going through college. He wanted to join due to Melanie's father. Melanie wanted to get a teaching degree and hopefully become a college professor at Seattle University.

Those two had plans. Sam tossed her towel into the bathroom hamper sitting next to the sink. She commenced to put on her clothes and took a sorrowful look at herself in the mirror. _"I have no future…"_ Her eyes started to water as a feeling of hopelessness began to settle in on her. _"I have no future…I don't even know what I want to be!"_ Hell, even Douglas had an idea what he wanted to be. He was already certified in the medical field and wanted to continue through college and medical school to become a doctor. Sure, even Carly's goals had been shot once she started getting into the porn business. She wanted to go into politics.

She heard a knock at the door, she'd been standing there for five or so minutes, so perhaps they were getting worried. She opened the door and saw Derek there. "Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking…" She walked out of the bathroom and breathed in. "Everyone has a future, but I have nothing. I'll never be anything." Derek frowned and then gave her a soft smile as he pat her shoulder.

"Don't think like that, think one step at a time. You need to build your interests, find out what you're into and what makes you happy, then go for that." The two started walking out into the main room where Jonah, already done with his shower, was chatting with Valerie and Freddie.

"Don't you understand? I can't go into college because of the things I've done. So that part of my life is over. I can't get a job because nobody in this town trusts me at all. I'm _nothing_." The others in the room glanced over at her as she leaned against a wall and closed her eyes. "If I had a chance, I'd take it. How the hell am I supposed to make something out of myself? How am I supposed to win my family's trust and respect again? You know the Japanese are very big on honor and dishonor? This is what my Aunt Umika says she knows of the Japanese culture. If someone screws up in the family, and that's screwing up _big_ time, then they dishonor and soil their family name. They're shunned, basically. Well I've done that, I've brought shame and dishonor to my family. I'm damaged now, I'm at a standstill!"

Jonah looked over to Valerie and they stood up from the couch, moving with Freddie over to where Sam was. They didn't know what they could say to make her feel better, but surely not all hope was lost. She bit her tongue and let her tears stroll down.

"I want to bring back honor to my family, I want my father to look at me as his 'little girl' and let me back in his house. I want my family to trust me again, to see that I'm a respectable woman. I want to have a future. I want to show them all that I _can_ change, that I _can_ be better. I want another chance…" Derek slowly gave her a friendly hug to comfort her and gently rubbed her back as painful tears dripped onto his shoulder. She didn't expect to have a breakdown, she didn't want anyone to see this side of her.

Freddie moved over to her side and rubbed her back gently, his heart felt for her. This was what Melanie always talked about, that vulnerable side of Sam. "Seeing this side of you with my own eyes is calming…" Sam lifted her head and looked to Freddie, unsure if she should be angry or not. If she should, she couldn't bring herself to be anything. "You were always so tough, so hard of a person, hiding that vulnerability inside of you. But this is good to see, it just means you're human."

Derek nodded his head in agreement and smiled at her. She looked to his eyes and let out a slight whimper of helplessness. Was she not destroyed? Was she not busted? She put her forehead to his shoulder and her shoulders rose and fell almost erratically. "Like Freddie's saying, it's okay to cry. You shouldn't have to hide what's inside of you. We're all here for you, Sam. It's going to be hard at first…" He lifted his hand and ran it through the back of her hair. She sniffed and relaxed her body. "You can do it, and once you've straightened yourself out, then you'll find what you really want to do with your life. You already seem to like culture, don't you? You could become like an anthropologist, somebody who studies different cultures. Hell, you could even be a historian. What's your favorite culture to study?"

"Japanese, actually…because of my Aunt…" Derek gave her a brisk nod and gently wiped her tears from her face.

"Well there you have it. You could become a historian for the Japanese culture, you could be an anthropologist, or even a journalist and write about Japan."

"I can't go to college, though…" She moved her eyes to the side and let out a brief sigh. "No colleges will let me in. Not only that, I have no reputable work history that would actually make any college think I was actually serious…" Derek tapped his chin while Freddie looked to Jonah and Valerie for thought. Valerie rubbed Sam's right arm softly and gave her a smile.

"Sam, I have an idea." Sam turned her eyes to Valerie curiously. Behind Valerie, Jonah was rubbing his chin and staring down at the ground in deep thought. Valerie took a deep breath and smiled. "Well we were talking and we think you can handle yourself, you're serious about quitting and you haven't fallen yet. Well, because we only have two cars and Jonah's picky about people using his truck, since it'd be easy on gas and everything, maybe I can talk to my boss at the bakery about letting you work there with me."

"What?" Sam's eyes widened as she thought about Valerie's job. The woman who was her boss, Sherry, was really nice but at the same time very serious about the job. It was the same way as Valerie. She wouldn't stand for someone working there who wasn't serious about the job. One thing she knew the woman wouldn't do was hire a porn star. "Y-You'd really do that for me?"

"Yeah, we've actually talked a bit about you. She said if push came to shove she might consider hiring you, but you'd actually have to be out of the porn life." Jonah smacked his hand into his palm and lifted up his finger.

"Aha, the military's actually similar to that." Sam looked to Jonah and lifted her eyebrows. "I was just thinking, if you were really concerned with showing your family that you are a serious respectable person, regaining their respect, then go somewhere that's going to build that up inside of you and make you a better person. Not only would the military make a good choice for that, they could actually send you to college and pay for it all. Granted, it would be difficult to actually get in with your past, you'd have to talk to a recruiter, but as you know, Derek's dad's a general. If you can convince him, he would actually be able to allow you into the military."

"You're saying I should join the military? But…" She tried to envision herself a soldier, running along trenches and defending those with her. With the Iranian War going on right now, the military really needed soldiers to go in and fight. They were highly respectable, highly dependable, surely the military would build that respect and surely she could be proud of herself as her family would be proud of her.

"He's right, I can always talk to Dad for you." Derek could see a potential in her, it wasn't hard to see when one looked at how determined she was. Sam looked at him hopefully and a mixture of uncertainty. "The best way you're going to be able to move along in life, it's true, is by knowing people. You've said it was hard to find a job, right?"

"Yeah, everyone in the world knows my past now…" Her tone was spiteful and her eyes narrow. She wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out, but that was the quitter's way out, and she was no quitter. "I've talked to a few people about it online a couple times in employment forums and employers have said they wouldn't hire someone like me because porn stars showed no seriousness about anything other than sex…and that was in their own opinion. So nobody will hire me."

"Then let Valerie talk to her boss, and maybe you could get started there. After that, if you're interested, I'll talk to my dad, we'll send out a recruiter for you who will ask a few questions, and maybe you can join the military." The pieces seemed to be falling into place, she could see herself with an actual life if she joined the military. Hell, even if she didn't and she worked at the bakery, it would show a reputable job to put on a resume. The military would simply ensure her ability to go to college. Maybe she wasn't completely without loss or hope. Tears started to drift from her eyes and she hugged Derek tightly, thankful for him and for Valerie, as well as for Jonah, Melanie, and Freddie.

"If you'd do that for me, then thank you! I…I don't know how to actually thank any of you guys." She wanted to do something to pay them back for their hospitality, she'd been thinking on that for the longest time. She took a step back and looked at the others. She hugged them each, one by one, surprising them. "I really don't know how to thank you, for everything you're doing for me. I wish I could repay you guys."

"We don't really ask for anything," Jonah said with a shrug of his shoulders. "All I ask is that you try, and we can see that you're trying." Sam smiled contently and closed her eyes, wiping a tear away with her finger. "Valerie's your best friend, so she wouldn't ask anything of you, other than maybe being her assistant in that webshow."

"Yeah, I definitely need you sticking around in the show. I'd be so lonely in the kitchen by myself." Sam laughed and she gave her another hug.

"I don't know where I'd be without you two, letting me stay with you and helping me through all of this." She turned to Freddie and smiled at him. "And you for being patient and helping Melanie, also for helping Melanie to still care about me." He chuckled briskly and gave her a one armed hug.

"Well, you two are sisters, it wouldn't be right if you didn't care about each other. Just be a good sister to her, and everything's fine. As for Derek, he may actually have something to ask." Freddie smirked at Derek as his head shot up and his cheeks started to turn red. Jonah clasped his hands together and a smirk widened onto his face. Sam turned around to Derek and looked at him with question.

"What is it?" He shot Freddie and Jonah a hard look, he was going to have to get revenge on them. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to avoid being nervous at all.

"Well…Jonah, Freddie, I'm going to get you after this-"

"Good luck with that one, bro." Freddie pat Derek's shoulder and held his grin. Sam laughed and Derek slowly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well the military's having their annual banquet, and I need a date…" Sam's eyes grew and a smile started to build on her face. Derek moved his gaze to Sam's eyes and lowered his arm. "They have a meeting room, there will be dancing and stuff…but maybe, you know, well…" He couldn't figure out why the hell he was getting nervous, he never got nervous about these kind of things. Granted he'd not been on _that_ many dates, he just never really had trouble asking. Freddie and Jonah exchanged knowing glances, they'd been teasing Derek all week about a small crush he'd developed on Sam after having taken her to the counselor's place. "Maybe you'd like to go with me? It might also be a good time for you to meet my father and get on his good side, but that's beside the point…"

"Of course, I'd love to! When is it?"

"Sunday at six…"

"I'll be ready then." Not really thinking, she reached up and kissed his cheek, then took Valerie's hand. "Come on Valerie, we need to talk dresses!" Valerie chuckled nervously and waved goodbye to Jonah as Sam dragged her through the house. Jonah and Freddie laughed and looked to Derek, who was redder than a beet. He glared at them and narrowed his eyes. Freddie looked at him defensively, but also with teasing eyes.

"What? You wouldn't have asked her if we didn't say something. What are you going to do? Tell your dad and make him give us a few hundred pushups?"

"Now that you mention it…that's not a bad idea at all."

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><p>Well Derek finally asked her out! Anyway, next chapter will be nice and fun, Sam meets his parents!<p> 


	41. Possible Bright Future

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 41 (Possible Bright Future)<p>

Sam sat in Derek's car with her eyes closed, she was completely nervous and fighting every anxiety within her. This was her first serious date and she never fathomed it would be to such a serious, highly respectable, high class event. She and Valerie had gone shopping on Saturday to find the perfect dress while Jonah and Freddie met with Derek's father for god knows what. The dress that Sam found and was wearing was a beautiful Sky Chiffon designer dress which was black and purple. There was a black lined, purple chiffon shoulder strap over her left shoulder, which bore a beautifully sequined, half-bow applique. The dress had a cut out back with a high slit blue skirt, the slit was covered by black chiffon going to the bottom of the dress. It had a sequin detailed waistband, with a low back and tail that started at the shoulder. With the dress, she wore two crystal strapped, five inch, blue heels. She'd never really worn heels and had to get Melanie's advice on how to walk in them just right without falling flat on her back. Her curly hair fell perfectly onto her shoulders. Never before had she felt so beautiful, and when Derek had arrived to pick her up, he confirmed her beauty for her by complimenting her dress.

Derek was dressed up in blue Air Force formal attire, designating his enlisted rank. It was a royal blue Air Force sports coat, closed by three buttons, and over a white button up shirt and a blue tie. He wore navy blue slacks and royal blue, almost black, dress shoes. All in all, he looked incredibly handsome. She was excited to actually meet his father and brother. His older brother was actually twenty five and a First Lieutenant. Once Derek completed all of his college, he would be promoted to a Second Lieutenant. Sam was actually very impressed with how much Derek knew about the military. She was really looking forward to this banquet. She wasn't sure how comfortable she was, going somewhere filled with highly respectable people. Hell, the son of a two star, Major General, bringing a former porn star seemed rather odd. Then again, she was told by Valerie, Melanie, Jonah, and even Freddie to push that aside. That status did not become her.

She didn't know how her family felt about it, though Melanie said that their mother was rooting for her. Melanie had since returned home and actually wasn't wearing glasses anymore, she decided to return to contacts. As for her hair, she was keeping it the way it was for now. "How do you think everyone is going to react to me?"

"You'll be fine." Derek smiled at her with his usual reassurance. He'd already told his dad and brother who he was bringing along and they were fine with it. "You might find some people who aren't too sure about you, but for the most part, nobody is going to judge you. Dad's fine with me asking you out, and Josh really couldn't care less who I bring." Sam laughed nervously and gazed out her window, they were almost to the building. "Can I just say, you really do look beautiful." Sam's cheeks started to slowly turn red and she turned her gaze towards Derek, she still was eternally grateful to him.

"Thank you. I'll try not to be so nervous. I'm not making any promises, but I'm going to try."

Once they were parked and inside the main area, she saw it was like your typical auditorium, or meeting room. It was very large and open with a stage and podium in the far end. There were several octagon shaped tables with royal blue table cloths covering them. Each had an Air Force emblem on them. On each table was a list of the officer or enlisted and their guests that were to be seated at the table. They also, in the middle, had bottles of wine. Sam knew she and Derek would be unable to drink, but that was fine. In between the tables and the stage was a long, brown floor where it was possible that the soldiers would dance with their beloveds.

Derek led Sam to the table where his mom, dad, Josh, Josh's date, and their youngest sister were all waiting for them. Sam hoped she didn't make Derek late, but since the whole thing really hadn't started just yet. She took in the family and bit her lip. The father had an almost hard expression, despite the pleasant smile. He was very well built, almost like a mountain. He had a light grey buzz cut. He was almost fifty years of age. His wife was a kindly looking woman, petite, and came up to the man's shoulders. Her brown hair was up in a bun and she wore a brilliant red banquet dress. Josh had spiked brown hair, a thick mustache, and piercing brown eyes. His date wore a pink banquet dress and had short blonde hair that went to her shoulders. Derek's young sister was ten years old, wore a floral formal banquet dress and had brown hair that ended in a V shape at her waist. Sam thought she was incredibly cute.

As they approached the table, the occupants all stood up to meet her. Her father was not only well built, it was then that she noticed he was incredibly tall, standing at about six foot four. She cleared her throat as Derek nudged her into reality, where she instantly began shaking their hands. "Hi, I'm Samantha."

"We've heard about you, it's nice to meet you." General Travis Beckett shook her hand with a soft, yet firm grip. He smiled and introduced his family. They shook her hands as he introduced them, first putting his arm around his wife. "This is my wife, Blair. You know my youngest son." Sam looked at Derek and smiled happily as Travis introduced Josh. "This is my oldest, Joshua, and his girlfriend, Alicia."

"It's nice to meet you, Samantha." Alicia shook Sam's hand and Josh gave his brother an appreciative nod. He actually had been teasing Derek about his lack of being able to find a date. Travis placed his hands onto his youngest child's shoulders and smiled.

"And this is our daughter, Angelica." Angelica waved at Sam and did a small curtsey. Sam placed her hand to her chest and smiled.

"Hi Miss Samantha, it's so great to meet you. Derek says you're staying with Miss Williams and Mr. Brown."

"Yes I am, and they are very nice people."

"Oh they are! I've met them! Mr. Benson and his girlfriend are nice too, they should get married like mommy and daddy!" Derek chuckled and Sam let out a bright smile.

"Yeah, I agree. Mr. Benson's girlfriend, that's my sister Melanie."

"She's pretty, just like you!"

"Thank you." Blair moved her hand through Angelica's hair and smiled at Sam.

"You have a very beautiful dress." Sam blushed lightly as Blair turned her eyes to Derek. "Are you going to show Samantha her seat?" Derek's cheeks grew red and he quickly pulled back Sam's chair for her. Sam thanked him and sat down with everyone else. Derek sat next to her and breathed in. Sam wasn't so nervous now, his family all seemed very nice. She was definitely impressed by them. He did say that they obviously knew about her past, but that they didn't care, as long as it was simply a part of her _past_ and not her present or future. "So Samantha, or would you prefer Sam?"

"Well, either is fine, I mean…I go by Sam, my full name sounds so formal, and though this _is_ a formal setting…I guess you could call me by either name." Blair nodded and folded her napkin neatly in her lap, smiling gently.

"What do you do right now? I know you're living with your friends for the time being, do you work?"

"Um, Valerie's going to try and get me hired at the bakery she works at. _Creations_, that's the bakery."

"Oh! I've been there before, it's a great place. Very respectable. If you get hired there, I'm sure you'll be great."

"I'm hoping so. I'm not sure what I'll do if I don't get hired there. It's getting harder and harder to get employment these days." Travis leaned back in his seat and rubbed his chin curiously. Derek had talked to all of them already about Sam possibly going into the military. So whether she knew it or not, they _were_ watching her tonight. They didn't judge her, it just wasn't their place, but they wanted to make sure she would be a respectable young woman who was serious about her future. Josh took the wine and started to pour it into glasses, as the banquet would be getting underway pretty soon. He lifted his eyes to Sam curiously.

"Derek says you're considering the Air Force." She looked to Josh and nodded her head as he handed Alicia and his parents their wine. Even Derek was allowed a glass, since it would be all right for him. Sam respectfully declined a drink. He took his and smelt of the wine before sipping it.

"Yes, I want to connect with my family." They knew from having met Melanie before that the Puckett clan was a highly respectable family, so it was not unbelievable that Sam would have grown up a respectable person. For someone of her and her family's standing, the mistake she made could most definitely be forgiven. If Travis decided he wanted her in the Air Force, then she would most definitely be in the Air Force. "I want to make them proud of me."

"Ah, then the military might be a pretty good way to go about it. The military is a no-nonsense lifestyle choice. If you're serious about it and think it's the right choice for you, then by all means, join the military."

"I believe it. I'm determined too, I'm not letting anything get in the way of restoring my future." Josh nodded and lifted his glass, smiling brightly.

"I'll drink to that." Derek tapped his glass to Josh's, then the others followed. "To a brighter day, and a brighter future." Sam's face once more turned a deeper shade of crimson. She was happy to be accepted by Derek's family, it meant so much to her and she had tried so hard to be herself and to be someone they would approve of.

After the banquet started and all of the speeches had been given, through all the meals and presentations, even Derek's dad got up to give a speech. After all the toasting and even brief discussion of the current Iranian War, it was time for dancing. Derek stood next to her, held his left hand behind his back and right hand out to her. She gasped lightly and looked up to his stunningly gorgeous eyes. "Would you like to dance?"

"Yes." She placed her hand in his and kept herself from falling into a daydream as he pulled her close to him. She loved the smell of cologne on him, and oddly she'd barely noticed it until now. She'd just been too nervous. He pulled her to where all of the military people were dancing and placed his hands at her waist. She smiled lightly and moved her arms around his neck, swaying gently with the soft music that was playing. Next to them a few paces was Josh and Alicia, then behind them were his parents.

"I'm glad you made it tonight. I can tell my family really likes you." His voice was soft and enchanting, it just pulled her in and she could float upon them as if sleeping on a cloud.

"I'm happy I came too, I've not really been on a date in so long…I didn't think any guy out there would ever want to date me after what I've done."

"Well don't think too much about the bad things you've done, they're no longer important." He found himself slipping away into her blue eyes and kept having to avoid that trancelike state of mind. He wanted her to know things would be okay. "You're life's going to start getting better, Sam. Remember the old phrase: Things get worse before they can get better?"

"Uh huh…"

"Well, the worst has come and gone for you." Her eyebrows rose and she thought upon his statement. What was the worst for her? When she'd been kicked out and that gang member tried to recruit her, that was the worst moment of her life. Then, Valerie and Jonah let her in and Melanie came back. Derek was right, things really were getting better. "Right now, if you can get that job at the bakery and apply for the military, that's going to be your life, that's going to be your future."

"Y-Yeah, you're right. Maybe my future won't be so cloudy now…" Her eyes glazed over as she turned with Derek. Her heart started pounding in her chest and she sighed as she became aware of every pulsating sensation. Her lips curled upwards and she rested her head on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding heavily like the beat of a drum. It was soothing to her. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Derek blushed and slowly smiled as he swayed to the right. He could see she was making a valiant effort, and so could his family. She was _definitely_ out of the porn business. Sure, she'd probably struggle with it for a while, just like anyone would, but as long as she wanted to quit and was determined to do so, she would.

"Do you think my family will ever be proud of me again?"

"I don't believe they would have a reason not to be proud of you. They're bound to love you no matter what. You can come out of this, I believe in you, and everyone is supporting you in every way they can."

It was like a dream come true, and it excited her. Of course, she knew what going into the military meant if she did get accepted into it. It meant possibly having to go over to Iran and fight. To fight for her country and to win, she could do it. She knew she could do it. She knew Derek's father told him if they liked what they saw and believed her to be a reputable, respectable woman, that they would consider sending a recruiting officer to the house. And God, she really hoped to see that recruiting officer sometime next week.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed this.<p> 


	42. Job Interview

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 42 (Job Interview)<p>

Sam kicked her feet in the air while sitting in the chair in the front of _Creations_, Valerie's bakery. She smiled as she eyed her surroundings. The front had a long glass dome reaching along the side wall, then across the middle of the room. Inside were cakes, pies, brownies, and all sorts of delicious sweets. In the front lobby where Sam was, there were five small tables in the center and white tiled flooring. It was a rather simple, but typical, bakery look. Behind the bakery shelves was one worker working on the cash register and another cleaning out the ovens. This was Monday morning and they were preparing for the day. Behind them was the doorway leading into the larger kitchen where even more baking took place, under Valerie's supervision, as she was the assistant manager. In there was also a door leading into the office of the manger and owner, Sherry.

One of the workers came in from the main kitchen, looked up to Sam and smiled as they brought out a tray of fresh brownies. The workers had a typical uniform consisting of a white button up shirt, white pants, brown tennis shoes, and hair up in a hairnet if they were female. The guys still had to wear a hairnet in order to keep anything foreign from falling into the food mixtures. Anyone that wasn't a cook was able to keep their hair down if they chose to, since they were not working with the food. However, all workers were required to wear the transparent gloves on their hands. The worker with the brownies was a young redhead with rosy cheeks and an almost sisterly smile. "Hey Sam, would you like the first brownie of the morning?" Sam's eyes lit up and a wide grin formed at her face.

"Can I?"

"Valerie said it would be all right." She pushed the fresh brownies into the glass dome with all the other fresh baked snacks already made. Sam stood up and made her way over as the girl took out a soft brownie and placed it on a napkin, then placed that on a paper plate. Sam reached over quickly and gave the lady an appreciative nod.

"Thanks!" The girl smiled again as Sam brought the brownie to her lips. The soft chocolate melted on her tongue and she let out a very contented sigh.

"How is it?"

"Heavenly…how's Valerie?"

"Still talking to Sherry." Sam was waiting on Valerie and Sherry, they were going to decide whether or not to give her a chance. After that, Sherry would talk to Sam, if she wanted her to work there, then it would be Valerie to give her a tour and all.

In Sherry's office, the broad shouldered business woman with amber colored hair sculpting her shoulders and bangs framing her face, sat in front of her large brown oak desk. She was leaning back in her leather office chair and looking up at Valerie who was standing in front of her, pleading her case for Sam. "Okay, so we've talked a bit about this last week, Valerie. Why should I hire her?" Valerie held her hands together and looked firmly in Sherry's eyes, she was making it perfectly clear that she was determined to get Sam this job. "You and I both know about her past, do you know that she's completely out of that?"

"Yes, my fiancé and I are taking care of her. She lives with us and is strictly limited as to what she can and cannot do. However, she is doing well about staying out of that life and doesn't want to go back into that. I've also been teaching her a few things about cooking _plus_ she's helping me with my new webshow, and she has surprised me."

Sherry's eyebrows rose and she leaned forward, pressing her fingertips together in front of her nose. "Surprised you, how?"

"She already has a great knowledge about food and appears to not need much instruction when it comes to cooking. She may need to be reminded on a few things, but the simpler items she does just fine. I know that cakes, brownies, anything in the bakery can be complex, but I believe she can definitely handle it and definitely add some great qualities to the staff. If you just give her a chance, I think you'll see what I mean."

"And you're _sure_ she's not involved in a sexual lifestyle? Will she take this job seriously?" Valerie closed her eyes and smirked slightly, nodding her head confidently.

"Yes, I know she will. You can ask her for yourself if you'd like." Sherry hummed slightly and leaned back. She tapped her chin once and stared at Valerie momentarily in thought. "Another thing she is trying to do is get into the military. So she will definitely have a future."

"Okay, I see…" She stared at the paperwork on her desk, then glanced back up. Working in a bakery might seem like such a simple job, but in reality, it was much more complex than most consumers thought. She wanted to be absolutely sure Sam was going to take it seriously, and the way Valerie made it sound, Sam would definitely take the job seriously. "I'm interested in hearing more, but I'd like to hear it from her. I'll let you know what I've decided, bring her in."

"Okay, thank you. Trust me, you won't go wrong with her." Sherry closed her eyes as Valerie hurried out of the room. She exhaled softly and began writing on the paperwork. She was already very interested in Sam, she just wanted to cement a few things and decide for sure whether she wanted her to join the team or not. Sam and Valerie were in within two minutes. She looked up from her desk with a smile as Valerie wished Sam luck and closed the door behind her, leaving just Sam and her boss in the room. Sam looked away nervously, she had hoped Valerie would stay in the room. "It's fine, Valerie's got work to do. Have a seat, let's talk."

"Yes ma'am." Sam moved to the chair in front of the desk and sat down, shaking Sherry's hand as she did so.

"Feel free to call me Sherry." Sam nodded politely and crossed her legs over. Sherry clapped her hands together and crossed her legs, tapping her left foot on the ground. "So, this is _Creations_, and as I'm sure you're aware, Valerie is our assistant manager here. We're like family here, and we're always working at a fast pace. You _will_ have to take this job very seriously in order to do well here. Valerie has told me some good things about you, and I'm definitely interested in hearing more. When we're done here, I want you to wait out in the lobby for a while and I'll make my decision then. Sound good?"

"Yes." Sherry smiled and looked back down to her paperwork, she moved her pen to the top item and lifted her eyes up to Sam.

"So, Valerie tells me that you once worked at a Chili shop, how did that go? If I were to call that employer up, what do you think they would say about you?" Sam's stomach clenched and she tried to figure a good statement to say. That job didn't end well, it wasn't _all_ her fault, the supervisor there wasn't exactly great.

"It was my first job, I was fourteen or fifteen at the time." Sherry nodded and began to take notes, she would gauge Sam's honesty here. "I held the job because I owed some friends some money, and I did take it seriously, trying my best to earn the money. However, I did get into an argument with a customer once. I know that I shouldn't have done that-"

"That's a very bad thing to do, you want the customers to come back. No customers, no money." Sherry's eyes didn't budge from the paper she was writing on, so Sam fidgeted with her thumbs.

"Right, but back then I was not responsible. I'm learning responsibility and paying for the mistakes I have made. Where I'm at now, I want to pay Valerie and Jonah for their hospitality, I need a job to contribute rent money. I am much older now, and I will not make the same mistakes I did then."

"Okay, because if you do, I may have to terminate you. I expect all my employees to be friendly, on target, and willing to do whatever job they are given. I assume you left that job when you were able to pay your friends back, is this correct?"

"Yes, but my boss at the time was less than favorable. I was made to clean the men's room on a daily basis, and more often than not, he did not supply gloves." Sherry's eyebrows rose with mild disgust and she quickly jotted the notes down.

"Here I require all of my employees to wear gloves and during business hours, whichever employee is assigned the task of cleaning up will clean the bathroom of his or her own gender. Now, in between that time and now, I understand somewhere in there that you have performed a less than favorable job…is this correct?"

"Yes, but only for a few months, not quite a year, however that life is behind me now. I still suffer the ramifications on a personal level, but I don't let that get in the way of my day to day activities. I can promise you that I'll take this job seriously and only focus on that."

"Okay, so as long as we are clear, I do run a respectable shop here. I don't want any of my employees putting themselves online in those situations, because it can bring down the reputation of my company. I want nothing to soil my reputation as one of the best bakeries this part of Seattle. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Just hiring Sam would be a risky step, because people knew of Sam's reputation. However, it could also be good for Sam's reputation in a way, to say that a highly respectable vendor was giving her a chance to prove herself.

"Okay, so…tell me a little about yourself, about your personality." Sam tapped her chin and thought for a moment, then looked Sherry square in the eyes.

"In one word, I'd say I am determined. I keep trying, keep going, never giving up. I can't afford to give up, can't afford to quit. I want to learn everything, I want to be the best I can be and make everyone I know, as well as myself, proud. I can be vulnerable, but I try not to let it show."

"Okay, very good answer." Sherry wrote that down and smiled slightly, she appreciated an answer like that, especially when the potential employee could look her in the eyes when talking. Sam did appear to be the determined type, determined to rise up. Another question was what personal challenges Sam might have faced, and Sherry knew of one. She decided to skip this and skimmed the list of questions. "What interests you in this job?"

"I enjoy cooking in my spare time, and I think this could really help me to broaden my range of cooking."

"Valerie tells me you have some experience with cooking?"

"A little, I took Home Ec a few times when I was really young. I did that with my sister, Melanie. Practically every year in junior high, that was one of my classes." Sherry lifted her eyebrows up and noted that fact.

"And how long do you expect to work here for? Just until you can pay your friends?"

"I expect I will be working here for a long time, I really like cooking and I am very interested in this job. I can't say when, or if, I will ever leave."

"You're also thinking of joining the military, correct?"

"Yes, because it can help build up respect and a solid reputation as well. I want to be strong inside and out."

"Okay. Sometimes my employees have to work overtime, or we'll have to have someone come in on one of their off days to take care of something, or we'll have an issue here that needs to be taken care of. These are not very frequent, but if these should arise and you are called, would you object?"

"No I wouldn't, I believe in adhering to the call of duty. If I am available, I will be there."

"Good answer. Now tell me, what are your future goals? What do you see yourself doing in five or ten years, how do you want to achieve them?" This one was hard to answer, but she had to answer openly and honestly, to the best of her ability. She closed her eyes and breathed in as Sherry watched her with intrigue.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I hope to at least have a solid job, good family, and hopefully a good career. I do have some goals for the military as well, and if they can provide a college education, I hope to get a degree. I'm not sure _what_ I want to do yet, but I know I'm deeply interested in various cultures. I plan to achieve all long term goals by hard work and being dependable."

"And your currently established goals that you want to fill?"

"Well, one is obvious, gaining the respect and rebuilding that trust that has been tarnished. Becoming a more respectable, dependable person. I want to build solid friendships, relationships, have a job, and to stay away from the prior mistakes of my life." Sherry nodded once more and wrote down in her notes.

As the interview carried on, Valerie monitored the chefs in the kitchen. Her eyes darted across the room filled with metal shelves, racks, sinks, counters, stoves, ovens, the entire works. She was up on an elevated platform, her hands gripping the railing as she turned her eyes to the clock. She knew if Sam was hired here, she would not only be making a good amount of money, she would be having a great time. Currently, there were ten major employees besides Sherry and herself. There were the workers up front who handled the register and the food, there were the bakers, and then there were the people who delivered the baked goods.

Her eyes drifted to her boss's door and she smiled when she saw Sam walking out. She stepped down the steps as her friend moved over to her. "She wants to talk to you, Val. She's going to go over her notes and make a decision, I need to wait out in the lobby."

"Okay."

"Thanks again, Valerie." Sam hugged her friend and moved out into the lobby. As she sat out on one of the tables she eyed the display case, carefully memorizing everything that was in there. She couldn't wait to get the tour, if she was hired.

During the thirty minute wait time, she had met most of the other employees, they were all friendly to her and caring. Sherry and Valerie had been right, this place _was_ like family. The employees described what it was like, that Valerie kept everything manageable and nobody disliked the job whatsoever.

At the forty five minute mark, Valerie and Sherry walked out of the office and Sam quickly stood from the table she'd been sitting at. The women smiled at her and Sherry shook her hand. "It's been decided, Sam. I would like you to start working for me starting tomorrow with Valerie." Sam nearly shouted for joy and held herself back, knowing she did not want to embarrass herself. Valerie could see it in her eyes and was ready to tell her she could cheer on the way back home. "I want you to spend the next hour or two familiarizing yourself with this bakery, Valerie will give you a tour and tell you what to do. Get to know the employees and listen to whatever anyone has to say. I think you'll find your time here very satisfying and fun."

"Thank you, you won't regret your decision." Sherry smiled at her and firmly nodded. She trusted Valerie's opinion very highly and based on what she'd heard, she was positive that Sam would take care of things and be a reliable, dependable worker. Besides, something had to give, and it was hard to get hired anywhere else if you were in Sam's shoes, and she understood that.

"I know I won't. Welcome to your new job." Sam grinned as her new coworkers started to cheer for her, they'd been rooting for her to get the job because they all pretty much liked her. One thing Valerie didn't tell her, whenever there was a new employee, the workers often baked a cake for them on their first day and they would eat in the employee break room just on the other side of the kitchen. Sam was lucky to land the job, she just didn't know how lucky she really was.

* * *

><p>Looks like she's hired, though not for very long, an even greater opportunity will come soon.<p> 


	43. Drug

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This will start out a dream, and shall include another song: "I'm Your Favorite Drug" by Porcelain and the Tramps. I'm realizing something here, they have a _LOT_of songs that go well with this story!

* * *

><p>Chapter 43 (Drug)<p>

Douglas awoke in a cold sweat and nearly jumped from his bed, he propped himself up on his elbows and was breathing erratically. Everything was hazy and his room was smoke filled, he raised his eyebrows and his eyes scanned the room. When the smoke cleared, he saw three scantily clad women standing at the end of his bed. One redhead with hair curling down past her shoulder, and large chests, one platinum blonde with a small beauty mark at the lip region, and one Asian woman with a devious smirk. They looked like three very prominent porn stars from Hollywood.

Douglas's hands tensed up and he swallowed hard as the three women started approaching the bed slowly. The Asian went around the right side, the redhead took the left, and the blonde placed her hands to the edge of the bed, all three were smirking dangerously, and death was in their eyes. "Get away!" The Asian and Redhead grabbed his arms and shoved him onto the bed, holding him tightly. His pulse rate began to increase as he tried to move from their grasp, but for some reason, all of his strength was gone!

_What you get is what you see  
>It wont take much to get hooked on me<br>So shoot me right into your skin  
>And I will be your heroin<em>

_The side effects are sexual_  
><em>And you're dying for a taste<em>  
><em>The side effects are sexual<em>  
><em>And you love the way I say<em>

"I said back off!" Was this real? Was this a dream? He kicked his legs out and twisted his body, nearly pulling the Asian over him, but she still held on with a firm grip. He let out an agonized shout and looked down as the blonde began crawling the bed as a lioness towards her prey. His eyes grew larger and he began thrashing about, struggling harder with each passing, eternal second.

He felt her hands upon his thighs and quickly tightened his eyes, what was going on? Why the hell couldn't he get away, what really was holding him back? These women were half his size! He should easily be able to get away from them!

The blonde straddled his hips and placed her hands to his chest, smirking into his terrorized eyes. The sweat began to pour out of him as the woman lifted her arms up above her head and pushed her chest forward.

_I'm your favorite drug  
>Your favorite drug<br>Just one hit is never enough  
>I'm your favorite drug<br>Your favorite drug  
>You can't break this addiction, no<em>

Your favorite drug, your favorite drug  
>I'm your favorite drug, your favorite drug<p>

He was beginning to notice a pattern, though. The more he struggled, the tighter the grip of the other two girls became. He exclaimed frantically and gazed past the woman, towards his dresser, where a framed photo of Carly was resting. His eyes began to grow misty and he quickly shook that mist away.

Why was this happening to him? He clenched his teeth tightly and looked up to the blonde. She had a nametag on her bra strap, they each did. The blonde's name was Tip, the redhead's was Love, and the Asian was Kay.

Love and Kay started reaching forward, smoothing their hands along his arms. He arched his back, groaning in pain. Their fingers were like knives, cutting into him. Tip felt like a ton of bricks crushing his thigh. She reached down and started sliding her hands along his chest, trailing bright red streaks along him.

He screamed again and tried to lift his arms up to get away, but that wasn't going to happen. "Give in…" Tip's voice echoed into his ears like corrosive poison. His eyes widened and he once more saw Carly's picture. He tried to reach out to her, but he just couldn't reach.

_"Help…"_

Kay, Love, and Tip commenced removing their bras and leaned over him, kissing his chest, face, and neck. Their kisses burned his flesh, destroying him.

_I put my nails into your back  
>And you feel me like a spinal tap<br>You want it from me on both knees  
>But not until you beg me please<em>

_The side effects are sexual_  
><em>And you're dying for a taste<em>  
><em>The side effects are sexual<em>  
><em>And you love the way I say<em>

"Get _off_ of me!" Did they catch wind of his plan? Was that it? No, this was too much of a nightmare to be real, it had to be!

"You know you want it." Tip moaned and started to grind his hip. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he began convulsing, his body was thrashing every which way. The women laughed until he stopped and his eyes stared at the ceiling with almost no life left in him.

There was only one way to escape, he had to give in. He fought the bile in his throat as he slowly rose up and wrapped his arms around Tip, Kay and Love continued holding on until they were certain he wouldn't get away. Tip wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him. His eyes shot open and looked to the photo of Carly, filled with pure sadness. His heart was crying out.

This must have been how Carly felt, the reason she stopped shooting those videos. He felt a million stabbing needles flying through his body, as though Tip was pushing them down his throat. He grunted with exhaustion as the other two girls released his wrists and moved to his legs, scraping their nails along his hairy flesh.

_I'm your favorite drug  
>Your favorite drug<br>Just one hit is never enough  
>I'm your favorite drug<br>Your favorite drug  
>You can't break this addiction, no<em>

His eyes drifted to the side where his end table was, there was a dagger sleeping upon the surface. Wasn't that the program Dexter created for that site? _Dagger_? The site that had been under investigation, the one Carly and Sam were on, it had been created by Douglas, Carly, and the help of a computer genius he found within the El Niño's. This man could hack into any computer mainframe, any site whatsoever, and not be traced. He also wrote somewhat of a proprietary code that made it impossible for anyone to steal the videos from that site and put them on any other site. If anyone did manage to get it on any other sites, the total shutdown of their website would cause that video to become completely obsolete. The name of the program that would shut down the site entirely and remove all their videos from the internet was named _Dagger_.

_Your favorite drug, your favorite drug  
>I'm your favorite drug, your favorite drug<br>Your favorite drug, your favorite drug  
>I'm your favorite drug, your favorite drug<em>

_I'm your pleasure in your pain_  
><em>I'll numb your fear just like cocaine<em>  
><em>And I'm your treasure, say my name<em>

As Tip continued kissing him while Kay and Love felt up his legs, he leaned back slightly and slowly moved his right arm from her back. He carefully slipped his hand on the end table and gripped the dagger tightly in his hand. He leaned back from Tip and glared angrily into her eyes.

"Time to shut down."

_I'm your favorite drug  
>Your favorite drug<br>Just one hit is never enough  
>I'm your favorite drug<br>Your favorite drug  
>You can't break this addiction, no<em>

Tip's eyes widened as he swung the dagger around and cut into her back. Kay and Love gasped and released his legs, jumping back across the room. Tip screamed out in pain as her body started flashing rapidly with red and white lights. Thinking fast, so he wouldn't be trapped again, Douglas jumped up from the bed and watched Tip explode into thin air.

His eyes darted from the two remaining girls, who were mourning and growling, and landed his eyes upon Carly's photo. "Carly…I need you…"

The girls snarled and ran towards him, he braced himself and held the dagger at his waist, pointing it outwards. His chest heaved and he took a careful step back. Their eyes began to glow a bright red, though filling with complete blackness. Their ears grew pointy and large and their fingers became claw like. As they shouted, Douglas saw their teeth growing sharp like blades. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes tightly.

_Your favorite drug  
>Your favorite drug<br>You can't break this addiction, no_

He twisted his foot sideways and swirled around Love, watching as she slammed into the wall where he had been. She dug her nails into the wall and screeched as a banshee. Douglas screamed as her sheer voice stung his eardrums. His hands flew to his ears. When he pulled away, he saw large pools of blood on his palms.

_"Shit!"_ His head flew up and he sidestepped Kay. His heart started pounding as the two girls glared at him and started to slowly approach him. "Stay the fuck away from me, you crazed banshees!"

The girls howled and their long, pointed tongues hung past their jaws. They were practically unrecognizable now. Was this what addiction looked like? Porn? Was this what the lust demon's form was?

Growing up in the family he did, his heritage, he believed in demons. He backed up against his dresser as the two girls began to grow vibrant red scales on their arms and legs. Their hair grew darker and began spiraling down to their heels. His eyes widened and his body began trembling, this was truly a nightmare. "You won't stop me! I _will_ tear it down! I've already called Dexter, he knows the plan! So you're too late to stop me, fuck off!"

The two let out a loud cry and madly charged towards Douglas, their long silky hair flying in all directions behind them. His eyes widened as he tensed his hands on the daggers.

_Your favorite drug  
>Your favorite drug<br>You can't break this addiction, no_

"Son of a bitch!" He screamed as they dug their nails and teeth into his shoulders. Blood drenched his body and dripped down his legs as they began dissolving his body. "Get off me! Come on, enough!"

One of the demons dropped to the ground and stuck her hand into his groin. He arched forward painfully and screamed out as the burning, slashing sensations shot through him. He'd never experienced pain quite like this before. Was this hell?

The second demon kissed his lips and his face began cracking at the corners of his mouth. He moaned painfully and tried to move his hands, but he was paralyzed. He was going to die, he was sure of it. This would be his demise, his death. Lust was a painful disease, a devastating addiction, he knew it well enough.

Was this how Sam and Carly felt? Was this their nightmare?

Suddenly light surrounded him and the two demons backed off. He collapsed to his knees and looked up to see the light coming out of Carly's photo. He lifted his eyes up as light particles started coming together to form Carly standing in front of him. Douglas clutched his chest and coughed blood onto the already blood soiled carpet.

Carly lifted her arms up and two arrows shot from her palms and struck the demons. They howled painfully and began to disintegrate. Douglas breathed heavily and looked up as Carly turned towards him and knelt beside him. "I'm in pain, Carly…"

"Let me fix that for you, Douglas."

"What can you do for me?" He gasped painfully when she touched his hand, he didn't think his entire body had flared up. This disease was going all over, it was going to destroy him. He looked into Carly's soft eyes, what was the look in there that he saw? That emotion he saw all the time, the emotion he saw in her eyes at the club she worked, it was still there. "I'm dying, what can you do to save me from this pain…"

"The same thing you can do for me, if you reach inside. I can do for you."

"What?" He started to collapse, tears stinging his eyes. He never cried before, he threw that away. Carly placed her head on his chin and drifted his gaze to hers. She leaned close and gazed into his eyes, her eyelids closing just halfway.

"Love you…"

"L-wha-" She cut him off and softly brought her lips to his. He closed his eyes and felt the pain inside of him start to go away, the inflammation was dulled and his wounds were closing up.

"_Lust destroys…"_

_Your favorite drug, your favorite drug  
>I'm your favorite drug, your favorite drug<br>Your favorite drug, your favorite drug  
>I'm your favorite drug, your favorite drug<em>

Douglas awoke in his bed and quickly rose up, he was drenched in sweat that left a large pool in the form of his body on the sheets of his bed. The sunlight poured in on him from the window, stabbing his eyes. That didn't concern him though, he had to relax and get his pulse rate down. As he gazed at the clock on the wall in front of him, he saw it was only ten in the morning. He breathed in heavily and looked to the end table beside him, there was no dagger.

"All just a dream…just a goddamn dream…" He got the message though. Granted the majority of the El Niño's were on drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and so forth, he always swore not to get involved in drugs. Yet, he already was. Porn, Lust, that was his drug. "Lust destroys the soul, huh…" Was he no better than the very gang he tried to stay away from?

Thinking fast, he leapt from his bed and grabbed his phone off of the table, calling Dexter as he began pulling a pair of jeans up his legs. That dream was going to haunt him until they did this deed. Dexter picked up after just two rings. "What up, man? Don't you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's ten, now get your ass up if you're not already awake, we're going through with this _now_." Dexter moaned and Douglas rolled his eyes with irritation. "Meet me in an hour at our designated meeting zone, got that?"

"Fine, I'll be there. Just bring the computer."

"Oh I'll have it."

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed this, next chapter should be pretty good<p> 


	44. Destroying the Site

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 44 (Destroying the Site)<p>

An hour later, the men arrived at the _Creations_ bakery, Douglas loved going there. Their food was his guilty pleasure. He and Carly used to go there all the time, one of their favorite things to share was the Black Forest Cake. However today, he just wanted a couple glazed and lemon filled donuts, two biscotti, and a strong cup of coffee.

He leaned against the wall next to the doors, and spotted Derek walking up from down the street. The computer genius didn't even _look_ like a typical gang member. He had spiky red hair, a pale complexion, low muscle build, and wore an olive cameo shirt with cut jean shorts. His eyes were blue and he walked with a slight gait. He may not look it, but this was the guy that could hack into a national mainframe any chance he got. It was good to have him on your side.

"Finally you show up, Dex. I was wondering if you were going to show up at all!"

"Nah, I got caught up in traffic." Dexter stepped next to the building and looked up at the decorative sign. "So this is the place, I can't believe you actually eat here."

"Yeah, Carly and I came here all the time, got the black forest cake and shared it." Dexter lifted his eyebrows up and whistled a small tune, he couldn't help but wonder if Douglas was softening up. Doug saw the questing look fly in Dexter's eyes and he quickly smacked him upside the head. "Come on, let's go in. I need a coffee."

"Are you okay, man?" Douglas was actually relatively tired looking, which was odd for him. He was steel reeling from the effects of that nightmare.

"I'm fine. Let me just say, it'll be a cold day in hell before I enjoy porn again." Dexter's eyebrow arched as he followed his friend into the building. They made their way to the front desk where one of the cashiers was typing on the register. She looked up and smiled.

"How may I help you?" Douglas yawned and lifted three fingers up, ready to order his meal.

"I'd like two lemon filled donuts, one glazed, two…no, three biscotti…and your strongest cup of coffee."

"All right, sir. That'll be eight fifty nine." He smiled vaguely and pulled his wallet from inside his shirt. He had sewn a pocket inside each of his shirts in order to keep anyone from possibly stealing his wallet during a brawl or something similar. He pulled out a ten and handed it to her.

"Keep the change." He turned and glanced at Dexter with a vague smile. "If you're going to order something, I recommend their mint cookies. Those are really good." Dexter nodded and watched his friend walk to a table and prop open the laptop. He then ordered what he wanted, also opting to try the mint cookies, then walked to the table and sat down. "All right, so we're going to shut down this site. Is there a way you can make sure these videos aren't located on _any_ other site?"

"Yeah man, I installed a code that tracks the videos, if anyone tries to put it on their site, they can't. It's impossible. It would take a computer geek to just hack into the video and put it on their site, but even still, I can detect it."

"Okay then. Now, once this site's shut down, what happens to all the videos?"

"They're gone man." Dexter moved a bit closer so he could turn the laptop and Douglas could still see it. He logged into the site and pulled up all the complex coding behind it, nobody could possibly crack all the codes he'd installed, there just wasn't anyone smart enough. "A team of scientists couldn't stop those videos from going away. It would be like they never existed."

"Great news…" He looked up at the sound of a familiar voice and saw Valerie giving Sam a tour of the facility. He cussed inwardly and moved his eyes back to the computer, but it was too late, Sam already saw him. Valerie was handed the tray for their pastries and she delivered it to them, showing Sam how necessary it was to ignore who the customer was. Sam walked over and folded her arms over slightly as Douglas took his pastries and the coffee with the creamer and sugar. As he dispensed the creamers and sugars into his coffee and stirred it up, he took in the wonderful cinnamon like smell. What a perfect way to start the day.

"What are you doing, Douglas?" Douglas sighed as he took a sip of his coffee. His eyes drifted up to Sam, she was so tense and uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to mind him all that much.

"I'm taking down the site, deleting every single video that's up there." Sam's jaw dropped slightly and she lowered her arms. It seemed almost too good to be true, but why would he want to do all that? "Not only do I want to…protect Carly, I don't want anyone else being able to see her online." Dexter chuckled as he started watching a video. Douglas closed his eye and raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure, man? She's se-" Douglas punched Dexter in the face and the genius let out a sharp yell. Sam laughed once at that and Douglas continued to sip his coffee. He sighed and set the coffee down on the table.

"You know Dex, for a genius, you sure are an idiot. Don't talk about Carly like that, and furthermore, _don't watch her videos!_" It was bad enough she was working at the strip club, and now the damn Niño's wanted to cast their fucking dicks into the pot. He wanted to see them _all_ die, starting first with Carlos. A slow, _painful_ death.

"So how are you going to delete them all?" Sam asked as she looked from Dexter to Douglas. She turned her eyes to Valerie to ask if it was all right that she take a break and try to see what Douglas was up to. Since she wasn't on the job, it should be okay. Valerie and Sam sat down in the corner booth with the two and moved closer to the laptop to get a view. Douglas groaned and flicked his eyes upwards, he felt way too crowded. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"I just _do_, okay? I'm sick of Carly being involved it that whole lustful lifestyle, it'll destroy her if she's not careful."

"So…" Sam was astonished, and a bit impressed with him. He actually _did_ have a heart, but that never explained why he dumped her so coldly that day. "Let me get this straight. You actually _care_ about her?" Douglas continued to stare at the screen, reading the coding that Dexter had on there, and trying to comprehend it in the slightest. Dexter's head shot up and he grinned past Douglas.

"Sí muchacha, he just won't admit it. Están en amor. ¡Amantes! Él ama su y ella lo ama."

"Aww." Sam laughed and Douglas flicked his eyes over to Dexter, narrowing them with annoyance. Dexter just basically told Sam that Douglas and Carly were in love, lovers, and that he loved her and vice versa.

"Shut up and figure this out before I kick your ass, Dexter."

"Aw, the tough guy doesn't want to admit that he en amor?" Douglas smacked Dexter in the head and the genius quickly recoiled. "Okay, okay! I'll get to work!" Sam smirked and Valerie rubbed her chin. They both were thinking the same basic thing, if Douglas really was in love with Carly, why did he break up with her and did they actually reconcile.

"So Douglas, did you two make up or something? I know your break up was pretty harsh…" Douglas breathed in through his teeth, watching as Dexter highlighted a few lines of coding and started copying them and pasting them into a document. This was the tracker code, what he was going to use to see if any of the videos had been put on another site.

"She took that hard, but we've reconciled. I had to do it, it was either that or something very bad happening…it's become too dangerous for us to be together. I've already said too much, anyway."

"So, you _do_ care about her then."

"Yes. I'm sorry for how I treated you, Sam. You, and all the other girls. I have a lot to make up for…and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to fix everything." Deleting this site and all the videos was one start. Sam knew the site had been Carly's shared idea with Douglas, and what was once just something small for entertainment purposes became way too huge for them to handle and it had just spiraled out of control. "My father, my brothers, they are part of a gang, the El Niño's. I'm not a full part of that gang, but they wanted me to be." Sam cupped her mouth and Valerie gasped, both had heard of them. They were still very small compared to other Washington gangs, however they were still a threat. If Sam was right in recognizing them for their drug trade and prostitution, then she knew without a doubt that Douglas breaking up with Carly the way he did was for her own good at the time.

"Why would they care about Carly, do you know?"

"Try not to think too much about them right now…and aren't you working?" He met her eyes, she could tell he was annoyed and frustrated, but she just simply did not care.

"Well tomorrow's my first day, so to answer your question, no I am not working."

"Oh. Great." He rolled his eyes and looked back at the computer. "Dexter, how's the search coming along?" Dexter kept his eyes positioned on the search results and took a bite of one of his cookies. He gasped with delight and licked his lips.

"Hey man, these are good!" Douglas motioned his hand in the air while grabbing a biscotti with his other hand and dipping it into his coffee. He bit into it and sighed. "Okay Douglas, search is ninety eight percent complete. Just a few more videos to search through." Thank god there weren't _that many_ videos on the site, so it wasn't going to be too treacherous of a task. He could only imagine what it'd be like if their site had thousands to millions of videos like the more known and popular porn sites out there.

"Okay, good to know." He set his half eaten biscotti down and grabbed up one of the donuts. "Are any of the videos linked to another site so far?"

"Hmm, there are two that have been stolen from a smaller site, yet they aren't either Carly's or Sam's. It won't matter, once I run the _Dagger_ program, they'll be totally erased. I'll even track and make sure."

"Okay good." He took another sip of his coffee while Sam and Valerie exchanged impressed glances. They didn't even know a thing like this was possible. "So I guess there is someone out there smart like you, huh Dex."

"Oh shut up." Douglas chuckled smugly and dipped his biscotti back into the coffee. "I created the code, so it pisses me off when someone screws with it." Yeah, you didn't want to piss Dexter off. A genius like that could easily fuck with you in several different ways if they got pissed.

"Can I just say how glad I am that you're not one of Carlos's supporters?"

"Who, him? He's a prick, thinks only for himself. I think all that coke he's snorting has fucked his brain over too much. You right man, Carly doesn't need to be subjected to that lifestyle at all."

"She should never have been subjected to a sexual lifestyle, period." Douglas placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together in front of his face. He closed his eyes tightly and recalled that vivid nightmare from earlier in the morning. "None of those girls should have been subjected to it. Those demons…" His voice lowered to a whisper and he slowly shook his head. "Damn it Carly, why did we ever start into that shit…"

"Okay man, search is complete, there are no other videos on any other site. If you're sure about this, I'll run-"

"Just do it."

"Okay, running La Daga, _the dagger_ now. Say goodbye to the site and all videos. Any replica of any of the girls online that you've worked with will be forever gone." Douglas and the girls smiled as Dexter started up his program. The Dagger was filled with nearly hundreds of lines of coding, he took great pride in that program. Dexter watched as the progress bar started up, it could take some time before it finished up. "You realize there are current viewers on this site? They're going to be in for a shock."

"What'll happen when the site shuts down?"

"Well like I said, all videos will cease to exist, they'll go blank. When the site itself is completely shut down, everything will freeze. Anyone that has it open right now will think something's wrong with their computer, probably, but they'll just have to close the browser or go somewhere else. If they try to get back, they'll just be met with a domain name error, as it no longer exists."

"Great. As for the videos on the other sites?"

"I'm about to show you what happens then. It is only one other site that has the videos on there, and only about two to four videos. When this site crashes down permanently, the videos on there will just black out, no matter if they're being viewed or not." Sam lifted her eyebrows as Douglas took a bite of his donut, smirking as the lemon filling went down his throat.

"Have I ever told you how much I like that oversized brain of yours?"

"Ay man, brains before brawn I always say. I'm a lot more lethal than you are." Douglas laughed brazenly and pat Dexter on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'd like to see that." Dexter smirked and pulled a small device from his pocket, then shocked Douglas one time, causing him to lose consciousness. Sam gasped and Valerie's eyes widened.

"What did you just do to him?" Dexter shrugged and returned his eyes to the progress bar, whistling as he waited for it to finish.

"Just gave him an electric shock from a former stun gun that I amplified times a hundred. He'll be fine, but I've probably pissed him off and he'll probably want to kill me when he wakes up."

"Geez…I don't think he was serious when he said that, you know."

"Oh I know. I just like to have some fun sometimes. Dude owes me big time. You know how hard I worked to create this thing?"

"Yeah. You know how much pain the site created?"

"Point taken." Sam smirked smugly and folded her arms over as Dexter tapped his fingers on the table.

"Thought so.

An hour later, Douglas woke up and rubbed the back of his neck, cracking it to the side. Dexter was still there, watching the progress bar, it was almost completely. Sam and Valerie had been helping customers and employees. When Sam saw that Douglas was awake, she moved over to him. Douglas groaned and looked at Dexter, then promptly delivered a punch to his face. "Don't do that again!"

"Sorry man, you told me…"

"I have things to do, I don't have time to mess around."

"I already called up a few of the girls you worked with and told them that they didn't have to worry about shooting porn videos any longer." Douglas nodded appreciatively as Dexter flipped over to the site with the videos, each of them were tabbed in his browser. "I do have some bad news, however."

"What's that?" Valerie walked over to Sam, who was listening intently, whether Douglas wanted her to or not.

"Well, good news is every single video and the site is finally done. Processing." The browser screen flashed and Dexter grinned. He showed them the tabs that had the videos and the videos stopped playing, they went black and the tabs froze. "It's all cleared up."

"Great!"

"And now for the bad news, which is somewhat related to your site. El Niño's was using that site, monitoring the various models." Douglas started to pale, immediately he knew what that meant. The gang had been using him for prospects. "They've been taking several of these girls and forcing them into prostitution." Sam gasped and Valerie's eyebrows shot up, they really had to watch her then.

"Shit!" Douglas slammed his fist on the table and started cursing himself, why were they doing this? Was it Carlos's orders? Did they just want more people to screw or something? "Those girls are innocent, decent women, Niño's doesn't have a fucking _right_ to take them!"

"It's Carlos's orders man, all of his supporters are already following him. You know how bad things can get, man."

"I know. Fuck, I know…" Douglas ran his hand through his hair and tensed his muscles up. How the hell was Carlos getting past his father? Surely Rafael wasn't sanctioning all this.

"At least now the gang can't use your site to try and find potential prostitutes." Dexter leaned back and stared at the screen, reading over his numerous lines of code. He had been deathly proud of that site, even though it became something of an evil thing. "But there's something else…"

"Now what?"

"Carlos is sending a gang member to Iran."

"Ira-why do I care?" Dexter sighed and began typing on the computer, hacking into Carlos Rodriquez's personal email. He turned the computer towards Douglas. As Douglas read, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. This worried Sam and Valerie. "That motherfucker!" Douglas exclaimed and rose up violently, heading for the door.

"What about your computer?"

"Keep it! I have more important things to deal with!" Douglas charged out the door and the girls looked worriedly at Dexter, who was staring at the computer screen with hazy eyes. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, something bad was coming their way.

Sam quickly sat down and pushed Dexter to the side, surprising him and causing him to nearly fall out of the chair. She turned the computer towards her and read the email, her face slowly paling and shock growing in her expression.

_From: _

_ To: Emilio_Gonzalez_

_ Now is the time to fulfill whatever hits have been left from Rafael Madison. Then, we will begin the process that will enable _me_ to take over El Niño's. My first order to you is for you to clear up the hit Rafael has on the military man who took away that prostitute many years ago. Colonel Steven Shay must die. He's applied for early leave and will be returning home within a week to take Carly Shay. You must prevent this from happening, you must kill him. Any interference will not be tolerated._

_ Once you have killed him, return to the states and we will take out Rafael, but we must work fast. Once Rafael is dead, that would make his son the leader of El Niño's by default. That bastard isn't even active, you know this. The motherfucker chopped off my nuts for screwing his girl, so I want you to chop him up. I don't actually give a shit what you do to him, if you leave him to die and give him a slow painful death, that would be enough. Once he's out of the way…I will let you know what is next on our agenda…I want Steven Shay dead by Friday at noon, no later."_

Sam looked up at Valerie, her eyes started to water and her heart throbbed painfully. She didn't want Carl's dad to die. She heard a car speed off and quickly glanced back. "Where's he going?" Dexter frowned and closed his eyes, his heart mourned for Douglas.

"My guess, to warn Carly and try to stop Emilio. Emilio is Carlos's number one hit man, he _never_ leaves a job undone. His prey is almost always…destroyed."

"Oh my god!" Sam cupped her hands to her mouth and shook her head. Douglas wouldn't die, surely not. How was he going to stop Emilio, though? This was getting to be too much, too fast. She never possibly fathomed that her lifestyle would lead to something like this. Fear gripped her, gutted her like a knife. "I-I'm not going to hide out if these gang members want to try to get me, but…"

"Aren't you staying with your friends?" Sam nodded and Dexter leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. "Then you're fine. El Niño's may be ruthless, but they're not that violent. They won't try to get you when you're with your friends, they'll try to get you alone."

"But I'm never alone…Jonah and Valerie made sure of that." She chuckled nervously and looked up to Valerie, who was becoming deathly worried about her friends.

"Then like I said, you're fine." Dexter rose up and closed the laptop down, he had some business of his own to take care of. He was going to turn himself in. He was claiming sole responsibility for the creation of that porn site and sole responsibility for allowing the videos on there from before Sam and Carly were fully eighteen years old. This meant Douglas would not have to worry about that aspect. He would never do these things again, Dexter knew this already, he'd learned his lesson. There was no reason for him to go to prison over this, but if Douglas was going to go to Iran, he might encounter something _far, far__worse_ than prison if he wasn't careful. "Adios."

"Now where are _you_ going?" Dexter pressed his lips together and started towards the door, stopping only to close his eyes and shake his head at them.

"Avoiding the hell sure to follow. The rise of El Niño's. He won't survive Emilio…Carlos will win…" Sam clenched her hands and quickly shouted a protest, much to Valerie and Dexter's surprise.

"You're wrong!" She saw that look in Douglas's eyes when he spoke of Carly, he honestly did care about her. If he was going to save her father, then he was going to save her father. "If he loves Carly, he won't die!"

"I hope you're right, senorita. I hope you're right…" Sam watched with tearful eyes as Dexter exited the building. How did she actually believe _Douglas_. If he was the one that made Carly happy, then so be it. He seemed to be changing for the better, but only time could tell.

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><p>Well here we go, you're in for a bit of a bumpy ride<p> 


	45. Adiós, mi Amor

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: At the end of this chapter will be a song that I found was really good for this moment. It doesn't encompass the chapter like the others, rather, it is just simply there.

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><p>Chapter 45 (Adiós, mi amor)<p>

Carly awoke in the middle of the night with a hand cupped over her mouth, her eyes shot open and standing above her was Douglas with his index finger over his lips. Her brows furrowed as he lifted his hand from her mouth. She wasn't surprised to see him, considering the two had been meeting together secretly for the last few days, despite how dangerous it was. Though she didn't know what he was doing there right at the moment, as he didn't warn her.

He'd just seen Carlos's thug leave the home and was sure he was being watched by someone. Emilio wasn't supposed to leave for Iran until the very next day, but he had left a warning for Carly. When Douglas went to investigate, he saw that Tyrone Shay had his throat slit, and next to him was a paper that read: _Do not try to escape, Carly, El Niño's will find you. Sincerely yours, Emilio Gonzalez._ It was a bold move from a hitman not afraid of anything. The cops had his name, but that didn't always mean they would find him.

"What are you doing here?" Carly whispered as she slowly sat up in her bed. "If Granddad wakes up, he'll see you." Douglas's face fell and he slowly shook his head. Unfortunately, he couldn't help her there. Panic started to strike her heart as she gazed into his sad eyes. "What? What happened?"

"Emilio Gonzalez happened…He left a message for you, a warning that the El Niño's are closing in. Your granddad…" Her eyes widened and adrenaline filled her body as she fled her bed and started to run for the door. Douglas caught her waist and held her close. She screamed out and grabbed his arm, crying as she tried to run for her grandfather's room. "Carly!"

"No, Granddad! I need to check on him! He's just an old man, he isn't involved in this! He's not a part of this!" Carly struggled some more and Douglas slowly pressed his back against a wall next to the window, so that if they were being watched he wouldn't be seen. "Douglas please, let me see my granddad! Please!" He winced and quickly cupped his hand over her mouth, muffling her voice to avoid detection. He spoke in a hushed whisper as she started breathing heavily.

"No! Do you want to remember him like that?" Carly stopped struggling and slowly closed her eyes, her tears began running down her cheeks as she tried to put together what had just happened. "Emilio is one of Carlos's top, if not the best, hit-men around. He cut your granddad's throat…do you want to see that?"

She let out a quick sob and shook her head. He lowered his hand and moved the back of his head against the wall. "Granddad's really…why? Why would they kill him? What did he do?"

"Emilio left a note…it said not to run, that the Niño's are closing in…They can't find you, Carly. It can't happen." He took a deep breath and Carly rest herself against his chest, her tears drenching into his thin shirt. She closed her eyes and sobbed, letting the rise and fall of his chest comfort her. "You can't let them find you, under no circumstances…should you ever go to them…" She looked up to him as he slowly opened his eyes and looked down into her gaze. He had to protect her, he had to take care of her somehow. "I'm going to get you away from here, somewhere safe. I want you to stay there…until I get back…"

"Until you…what are you talking about?"

"Just come with me." He moved his hand down her arm and cupped her hand firmly. He peeked out the window momentarily and narrowed his eyes. So far so good. Carefully, he led her through her home and into his car, then proceeded to drive to a motel just fifteen minutes from the area.

"So, what's going on, Doug?"'

"They're after your dad." Carly gasped and shook her head in denial. "I won't let them get to him." When he parked at the motel, he pulled Carly from the car and led her into motel to the front desk. He'd already prepaid the people there to keep Carly safe until he expected to get back. Once he led her to her motel room, she sat on the bed and watched Douglas close the curtains. She couldn't contain the fear and panic inside of her, it was like someone just hit her with a ton of bricks. "Carlos has been covering his bases, tying up old loose ends and creating new ones."

"But what are you going to do? I don't care about Carlos…"

"I'm going to save your dad, obviously. I'm going to kill Emilio Gonzalez." No, that couldn't happen. She quickly stood up and placed her hands on his broad shoulders, gazing with worry into his eyes. Douglas pressed his lips together. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, he wanted to promise her he'd come back in one piece. Only, this time, even he was scared. He couldn't save everyone. Carlos was after Carly, her father, his father, everyone. He knew she'd be safe if she stayed in the motel. He'd even planned on the way to her for one of his supporters to take her in should something happen to him. However, that was the worst case scenario, he hoped to return to her with both himself and her father safe and alive.

"Didn't you just say he was Carlos's best killer? If you fight him, what if-"

"I won't die, Carly. No matter what, I will _not_ die." He lifted his finger to her chin and tilted her gaze upwards. "Everything I'm doing, I'm doing for you. I didn't make it in time to stop Emilio from killing your granddad, he's not stupid enough to care or go after your brother, but I will do everything in my power to keep him from harming your father."

"Dad's coming home next week, though. He told me, he'll be here. Couldn't you wait?"

"Carly. Waiting for him to get here would be like sending one small cat into a pack of wild wolves and junkyard dogs. Not only that, but it would be like doing that while a pit bull is after that cat. That just makes matters worse. Your father has an assassin after him, and I'm not going to rest until that assassin _and_ Carlos are dead. No matter how long it takes me, Carlos _will_ die." He knew he should have killed the idiot when he had the chance to, but he didn't even think about it. "Now, I want you to know something else…I've talked to Dexter and we removed that site and every video associated with it."

"You did?"

"Yes. Only, the gang's been using that site before…they took a lot of girls we worked with and forced them into prostitution." Carly gasped and cupped her hands over her mouth. Douglas closed his eyes and let a low growl escape his throat. It made him sick to think that the gang had been using him this entire time. If his father really was sanctioning it all, then Carlos would have a bit of difficulty getting his hands on Rafael before Douglas did. "No matter how long it takes, Carly. No matter how long…El Niño's _will_ fall. El Niño's morirán."

"And how will you do that?"

"Believe me when I say this…El Niño's is small enough that even in ten years time, they won't be large enough to be completely destroyed. All you have to do is take out their major leaders one by one, then their assistants. They have several leaders stationed around Washington, but really it's only five or six, excluding the head of the whole gang, who resides in Seattle."

A car veered off in the distance and Douglas quickly moved to the window, gazing out of the curtains carefully, scanning the area. Carly swallowed hard and felt the hair standing on end. What would she do? She couldn't get back to work if she had to be in hiding. She'd call Bridget and tell her what was going on, she had to.

"Carly, listen to me and listen well…" Douglas turned back to her and took her hand in his. Her body was trembling horribly, he could clearly see the fear inside of her. "I have one of my friends who will address himself as Jay. He has blue eyes and very short blonde hair. He will wear a red shirt and green pants. He will also wear black sunglasses. Should something happen, should I be delayed…" Carly's eyes widened and her breath hitched. "He will come find you and he will take you somewhere safe. He will protect you until I can get back. I'm going into Iran, anything can happen there."

"D-Douglas…"

"I will _not_ die. Believe me. I don't care how long it takes for me to get out of Iran, I will _not_ die before you are safe. I promise you that. I've cleared my bases, done the best I can to assure the safety of everyone else. Sam will be fine with Jonah and Valerie, the remaining girls we've worked with have been informed to stay with their families until El Niño's are finished, and all the porn we did has been permanently erased. My father…I couldn't find him. I got his phone and he told me to do what I had to do first, to make sure you and your father were safe, that he could handle himself just fine…"

"Are you sure about this? Are you sure you have to do this?" She wanted her father to live, but she didn't want to lose Douglas. She was afraid of possibly losing the both of them. What would happen if he was wrong, what would happen if Emilio was indeed too much to handle? She had to have _something_ to leave off with. "How will I be sure you'll come back? Are you even _certain_?"

He slowly pulled her close to him, embracing her as he gazed into her wide brown eyes. He tightened his jaw and lifted his hand, brushing her hair back gently. "Because." He leaned his head forward and softly kissed her lips. She was surprised by the kiss and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed back. Their kiss lasted several seconds, their bodies relaxed and he moved his lips apart from hers. "Your love makes me a stronger person." Her lips parted and her eyes grew large as she sank into him. "You are everything to me. My father was correct when he spoke…I do love you, and I will do everything in my power to make sure everything is as it should be."

"Y-You…" Her heart jumped to her throat and she whimpered softly. She slowly moved her arms around him and rested her head onto his chest. He let out a soft sigh and his heart broke. He had to do everything possible, but this was the hardest thing he'd ever done. He was well aware of the dangers he faced, not only going after Emilio, but just simply going into Iran during this war.

"I love you. I will come back...Never give up on that." He paced his hand on her cheek and she let out one last whimpering sob, which broke him completely. "I have to go now. Please, stay here until either I or Jay can come for you. Okay? You understand?" She nodded and her face scrunched with pain. He kissed her lips once more and quickly turned on the television. "Here…"

"Be careful, Douglas."

"I will be." He gave her a smile of reassurance and made his way out the door, he didn't know when Emilio was leaving for Iran, so he knew he had to get there soon in order to get there first. Carly sat on the bed, covered herself, and breathed in deeply. On the television was a candlelit area lighting up a sad stage with a sad looking male singer. He had long hair, a beard and moustache. He also appeared overweight. The song was dubbed in English, as it was on an English channel. The song was actually a Spanish song.

"Demis Roussos, Goodbye my love goodbye." Carly's breath hitched and she pulled her blanket to her chest.

_Hear the wind sing a sad, old song  
>it knows i'm leaving you today<br>please don't cry or my heart will break  
>when I go on my way.<em>

Goodbye my love goodbye  
>goodbye and au revoir<br>as long as you remember me  
>I'll never be too far.<p>

Goodbye my love goodbye  
>I always will be true<br>so hold me in your dreams  
>till I come back to you.<p>

See the stars in the skies above  
>they'll shine wherever I may roam<br>I will pray every lonely night  
>That soon they'll guide me home.<p>

Goodbye my love goodbye  
>goodbye and au revoir<br>as long as you remember me  
>I'll never be too far.<p>

Goodbye my love goodbye  
>I always will be true<br>so hold me in your dreams  
>till I come back to you.<p>

She slowly got up and walked to the curtains, pulling them to the side and holding her breath as she watched a car drive out of the parking lot and turn in the direction of the nearest airport. Douglas's car. A single tear left her eye and dripped down to her chin. She closed her eyes and put her hand to her stomach, she was beginning to feel nauseous. Would he come back, would he not come back? What would she do?

She slowly sank to her knees, grasping the dusty old curtains firmly in her hand, listening only to the sorrowful song. "Please, be safe…" The only words she could utter from her lips. She hoped he would save her dad. He and her father were all she had left now.

God how she hated pornography, lust, all that stuff. It did this to her, it brought her this much pain, this much heartache. How could she have gotten in this far? How could all this happen to her? Just an innocent girl who wanted to have fun with a single webshow.

She lifted her head up and gazed at the ceiling, sobbing silently as her fingernails scraped the floor. Now, that innocent girl was sitting in a musty motel room, waiting for her lover to rescue her father from the hands of a professional assassin, her grandfather had been murdered because of her, her brother and his fiancé now hated her guts and wanted nothing more to do with her, and all of her friends were gone. Why couldn't she see it coming to that? Why, why had she been so stupid?

_Goodbye my love goodbye  
>I always will be true<br>so hold me in your dreams  
>till I come back to you.<em>

She lay on her side, staring silently at the wall at the far end of the motel. She moved her knees to her chest and slowly closed her eyes. If she could, if she had to, she would just lay there until the world stopped. She wanted to undo it all, change everything. But, she could not.

* * *

><p>Well Douglas is heading to Iran to stop Emilio. This could be interesting.<p> 


	46. First Step to Restoring Honor

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Okay I probably should stop for a bit and let some of my readers (Lantern) catch up XD

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><p>Chapter 46 (First Step to Restoring Honor)<p>

Tuesday, after her first day of work ended, Sam and Valerie were relaxing on the living room couch. They were concerned for Carly, gravely concerned. Her grandfather's body had been found and Spencer was in a rage. The police were looking for this Emilio Gonzalez person and believed he may have Carly. Dexter had been successfully booked by Mr. Puckett for having created the website and allowed any videos of any minor to be published onto it. Even with that now a part of the past, it didn't seem to make things better. Spencer was already lighting the fire to fight and try to destroy the gang that cost the lives of his mother, his granddad, and now possibly his sister. Now would begin Seattle's war with El Niño's, they were under the radar of every single officer in the state and knew if they were smart, they'd have to lay low. When a lawyer started a fire, there was no way in hell that it would be over until that man got what he wanted. No matter how long it took, Spencer was certain to make sure Washington said "Goodbye, El Niño's."

Sam moved her head back and exhaled softly. She wanted to know where Carly was and if she was safe. Chances were Douglas made damn sure she would be safe from the gang. Now with a statewide war against El Niño's, there was probably no chance that they could get her. The other issue was the Niño's were beginning to piss off other Seattle gangs, including the four biggest gangs stationed in Washington. That was the NSS 14, with over thirty thousand members, the Little Valley Lokotes, with around twelve thousand members, the Florencia and the Vatos Locos, both with eight thousand members. To them, a gang like ElNiño's, with just under one thousand members, though seven hundred and fifty seemed to be more of an accurate number, they were nothing. Carlos Rodriquez, if he took over, would likely lead his gang into a devastating, terrible end. Rafael Madison wasn't even in charge anymore, it seemed. It was a sad fact too, since Rafael was not too big on the violence part. His claim was always to stay out of violence with other gangs until their numbers were high enough, but Carlos didn't care.

Valerie paused her cable box on the news and looked over to Sam with a silent gaze. It was not hard to see where Seattle was going. If some of the biggest gangs in Washington were about to start a war, things were going to become a big mess.

"This is bad. It just isn't safe." Sam agreed and tried to think of a way to put it out of her mind. She hoped maybe the law enforcement would step up before things got too out of hand. Valerie flipped off the television and stood up. "What women did the gang take that belonged to other gangs?"

"I don't know, but Carly and Douglas had about sixteen women, if you include me. I've contacted eight of them and they're all safe at their homes. The other seven are missing, El Niño's probably took them. I know at least three or four of those girls were involved in those gangs that evidently have their eye on the Niño's, the others I'm not sure about." Valerie had given Sam permission to try and contact the other girls in this case, she knew it wouldn't trigger anything and she trusted her.

A firm knock came to the door and Valerie walked over to answer it. Sam looked up to see a woman dressed in military uniform. Her eyes widened and a smile grew upon her face. This woman was a recruiter, and chances were she was here to see her! She stood up as Valerie let the lady in. The woman walked up to Sam and shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Sgt. Evans, are you Samantha Puckett?"

"Yes ma'am." Sgt. Evans smiled and sat down with Sam, she'd been waiting to meet up with her sometime this week, but she had been busy earlier on.

"Great. General Beckett informed me that I was to talk to you about the Air Force. He wants you in, and I hope you are aware that when a General wants someone in the military, they're going to be joining the military. So, I'm going to talk to you today, we're going to send you for a physical and then if you're accepted, then we will send you into basic training. That is about eight and a half weeks."

"I do have a question." Sgt. Evans nodded and cupped her hands in her lap as Valerie went into the kitchen to get the lady some coffee. "Will I be sent into Iran after training?"

"Most likely. A lot of current recruits are going over there right now. The military is in need of soldiers, so the process will likely go quickly for you. I just need you to fill out a few items and we'll get started, okay?" Sam nodded and bravely stood with the woman, smiling with pride. "By joining the Air Force, you will do this country, your family, your friends, and everyone around you a great honor and service." Sgt. Evans saluted Sam and she saluted back. Derek had trained her how to give a proper salute. The recruiter seemed impressed by her knowledge. "Please, let's go find a table to sit at."

"Right back here, ma'am." Sam walked with Sgt. Evans into the kitchen and towards the table, nearly squealing with joy. This was a dream come true! Within a few hours, she would have an appointment with a military doctor and he would give her a physical. Now, she just had to sell it. As they sat down, Valerie handed the woman a cup of coffee.

"Thank you very much." Valerie nodded and sat next to her friend. Sgt. Evans sipped her drink and closed her eyes. "Now, the things of your past, General Beckett has stated will be waived, forgiven and forgotten. However, I do have to ask on his behalf, are you currently involved in a pornography career?"

"No ma'am, it is shameful."

"Okay." Sgt. Evans started writing down her notes and kept her eyes on the paper. "And do you have any desire to return to that lifestyle?"

"No ma'am."

"Will you enter the Air Force with the mind of a soldier, holding only the highest honor and respect for your fellow man and uphold the rights and truths of our constitution?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay." After those questions were over, Sam and the recruiter talked for a good couple of hours. She asked everything necessary, such as whether Sam was on medication of any kind, if she had any ailments of any kind, or if there was anything that might hold her back. She seemed to be a normal, healthy eighteen year old girl and would be good to go for the physical. Sgt. Evans told her she probably didn't have anything to worry about and would likely be going into basic training within the next few weeks if she passed the physical, which was highly likely. Chances were, she'd be in Iran fighting alongside her fellow soldiers within a year's time, if not sooner. The group stood at the door and Sgt. Evans shook Sam's hand, smiling with gleam in her eye. "Your chances are good, Miss Puckett. If I were you, I'd start telling your family now. I'm sure they would appreciate the head's up."

"I'll do that." She waited until the woman left, then once she was out, she let out a loud shout for joy. Valerie grinned brightly and Sam hugged her with all her strength. "I'm building up my strength well, don't you think?"

"You'll be just fine. Do you want to go see your mom and dad?" She really wanted to wait until it was confirmed, but was it not basically confirmed as it was?

"Yeah but I want to call Derek up first." Valerie nodded as Sam pulled her cell phone out and called up Derek. "Guess what, Derek! The recruiter came by!"

"Awesome! Was it Sgt. Evans? She's really nice."

"Yeah, that's the one. She was really informative, I liked her." She wondered why Derek and Josh hadn't been overseas yet, but Derek had informed her before that they were just visiting. They would have to return to Iran pretty soon. She hoped to fight alongside them. If they were still at war when Jonah finished college in two to three years and became a First Lieutenant, she hoped maybe she'd see him overseas too. They could all work together to help end this war, granted the war wasn't that bad right now. It might end in a few years' time, however the severity of it was great. "So maybe in a few months, I might be fighting with you and Joshua."

"Maybe so." It didn't hurt that she'd spent at least an hour with him every day now, they were starting to become really close. "Are you going to tell your family?"

"Yeah, I just wonder how they're going to take it. Will you be with me?"

"Sure, when are you going to tell them?"

"Well, I was thinking like in half an hour I might go down there. I know Melanie said Aunt Janet was going to be over tonight. So, she'll get the good news too!"

"You'll be the first one in your family in the military, won't you?"

"Uh huh! Nobody else has actually been involved, so I get to be the one that leads my family into that honor. I'm so excited!"

"I'll be right over." Sam was elated. She sighed contently and pressed her phone to her chest as she fell onto the couch. Valerie chuckled and sat next to her, petting her hair.

"Valerie, what about the bakery? I know I just started there…"

"Chances are you'll have some time there. Don't worry, Sherry won't have a problem. The military is a great thing to go into, she even told me she'd rather you go into the military than work there." Sam slowly nodded her head and closed her eyes. This was more than just an exciting time for her, this was going to be her life now, her future. It had to be her primary focus.

"I'm scared. Can I just say that?"

"Yeah, it's okay to be a little scared of the unknown. You'll be just fine, we're all with you on this. We're all proud of you, rooting for you, even Jonah is." Sam laughed and rolled onto her side, placing her hands in between Valerie's leg and her head.

"I don't honestly know what I'd do without you guys, Valerie. If you didn't let me stay with you…"

"Shh. Don't think about that." Sam nodded and breathed softly. It seemed porn may become a thing of the past, truly, truly.

In half an hour, Derek, Sam, Valerie, and Jonah arrived at Sam's family home. She knew that no matter what, she was going to uphold their rule and not go inside that house. She didn't feel she'd earned their respect yet. Her legs shook tremendously and her heart pounded heavily. For some reason, Derek was in full uniform, evidently he was doing some sort of military training thing with his dad and brother when she called. She leaned against the car and groaned as her eyes flicked to the stars in the sky. Derek stepped out and placed his elbow on her shoulder. "What's the matter? Nervous?"

"Yeah, I don't even know how this is going to go."

"Treat it like my dad did when he was young." Sam raised her eyebrow as Jonah and Valerie surrounded the two. "Same way Jonah did with his dad, but my grandpa was harder."

"I don't understand, what happened?"

"Grandpa was one of those hippie types back in the day, he _hated_ war, and he _hated_ the military. Dad finally finished college, finished talking to the Air Force recruiter, walked up to Grandpa and told him flat out that he was joining the military regardless."

"Oh wow, what happened?" Sam listened intently as Derek went on to explain his father's story, it was well known in his family.

_Twenty two year old Travis Beckett sat outside of his father's house, sipping on a cup of water and some Tylenol pills. He had a headache and was sure, despite the painful throbbing that was already present, that this time was _it_. It was now or never. He set the cup on his dashboard and left his car, then gazed at the warm glow of the porch light. He mocked the moths fluttering about and moved towards the house and knocked hard on his father's door. _

_ It was already wartime, and he was about to enter as a First Lieutenant in the Air Force. There was nothing that could possibly derail him from his future, he was determined that this would be the answer to his life. He had a young girlfriend in college who was supporting him all the way, and that was all that mattered to him now. _

_ His father, a stern figure who believed in a much needed revival of peace and harmony without war, opened up the door and stared at his son. Travis seemed so much different, tense and poised as if he were one of those soldier men. "Travis, what brings you here tonight?"_

_ "Dad. I know you hate the military, I know you hate the thought of me, or any of your children actually thinking of it, but you know what?" The man's stern face narrowed as he stared at his son with concern and upset. He really hoped the words about to come out of his child's mouth would not be what he was thinking. "I have a lot of respect for you, a lot of respect for my family, and I believe that if not for the military we have, we would not even _be_ a family. If not for that military, we would be sipping tea and eating scones every single day of our life. Father, our country is a _free_ country because of the men who died for this land, and Father, I fully intend to be one of those men to fight for this land and keep it free!" Travis moved his hand up in a salute as his father opened the door fully and stepped outside. Standing erect, his father was a tall and imposing figure with a beard and short hair that covered the tips of his ears. He folded his arms over and tilted his head, keeping his lips flat and his face calm._

_ "What are you saying, Travis?"_

_ "I'm joining the Air Force. I have already spoken with a recruiter, filled out the applications and done everything I can to put my foot into the door. When the time comes to protect this family, Father, I will be the one to stand up and defend my family with honor and with glory. If you don't appreciate that, then I'm sorry, but nothing can stop me from doing this."_

_ "So you've already made your mind up…" The man gave a slight hum and turned back into the house, gently closing the door. Travis lowered his arm and stood there, waiting. He knew his dad well enough to know that he was currently dealing with the problem at hand. He needed to take it in and rather than stand there awkwardly staring at his son, he chose to retreat into the house. After a minute or two, he returned with a small smile. "If I can't stop you, then I can't. I know I don't understand this whole sense of duty you feel, but that's just because I can't understand why someone would want to go overseas and possibly die."_

_ "It's not the aspect of dying, Dad. It's the feeling of laying down your life for your family, for your friends, for your countrymen. It's the feeling of being on the front lines and knowing that we don't _have_ to be enslaved, we don't _have_ to be ruled by a dictator, and we don't _have_ to be a poor country thanks to our own efforts. We fight to keep this land free, same as the founding fathers and so many others had done in the past, and if it means giving our last breath, then so be it. Fighting, living or dying to keep you, mom, and our family alive and able to have the freedom of speech to say whether or not you like something, _that_ is what service is all about."_

_ Travis looked at his father and he saw this big man start to shed a tear at his son's speech. If that was what his son felt, if that was what was important, then maybe it was a damn good reason. He placed his mighty hand upon his son's shoulder and Travis did not tremble. He stood firm, his jaw stiff and his attention alert. "Then if that is what the sense of duty is…then I will be proud of anything you do. If it's in your heart to join, I will not argue it. Do what you feel is right."_

Sam wiped a tear from her eye and smiled, she knew she wouldn't have that much difficulty because her family were not anti-military, they loved the military. Jonah pat Sam's shoulder and started walking towards the front door, everyone else followed as he glanced back at Sam. "I didn't have so much trouble telling my dad. I knew what to say and he's not against it. He knows I'm waiting to finish college so I can be an officer rather than an enlisted at first. He said he's scared of what it might be like for me over there, but as long as I'm fighting to keep our country alive and performing my duty, that's what matters. Just be yourself, be natural, and say what's in your heart and on your mind. You'll be fine."

"Okay…well if it actually runs smoothly, I'll kiss Derek." Jonah laughed and Derek's cheeks grew red. He wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Sure they'd been out a couple times, dated since the military banquet, but they hadn't kissed yet. Valerie nudged Sam teasingly and winked at her.

"Oh you will, will you? Finally feeling comfortable about relationships?" Sam looked at her friend, then back to Derek. Her heart started filling up with a strange sensation and she looked away to the door. She did feel comfortable with him, and she had been wanting to kiss him. This would be a momentous occasion and maybe, it would be a good time to kiss him. She wanted to know if she'd be comfortable with it at least.

"He's a good man, Val." That needed not be on her mind right now. She bit her lip and lifted her finger up to the doorbell. She hovered over for a second until Derek stepped up behind her and placed his hand on hers, pushing her finger onto the bell. He smirked lightly as Sam's cheeks grew bright red. "Gee, thanks for that one."

"No problem." She turned her head back and looked into his eyes, her heart slammed against her chest and she quickly turned back to the door. Her entire body was starting to heat up with him standing there. They could hear footsteps approaching the door and Derek took a slight step back while Jonah and Carly stood behind her and off to the sides as well. "Here you go."

Sam's heartbeat was the only sound she could hear as the door opened. Her father stepped in the doorway with Pam. Behind them, Sam was shocked to see _all_ of her aunts. Each of them stood from whatever seats or positions they were in and started to leave the house with the family. Last to file out were Melanie and Freddie

The Aunts leaned up against the house on the left side of the yard while David, Pam, and Melanie moved in front of them, they didn't want to feel awkward by standing in the doorway. Along with them came all of Sam's cousins, Annie, Garth, Tanya, and Jacob. Freddie rested his arm around Melanie's shoulder and gave Sam a nod for good luck.

_"Dear god, this is almost uncomfortable." _ Sam's palms became clammy and her nerves were beginning to start up like wildfire. Had her mother basically told them all to come? What the hell was this? She had to relax, she had to do this. Now or never. Valerie stepped behind her and placed her hands on Sam's shoulders, nudging her forward. Jonah rubbed the side of his nose and chuckled as Derek walked alongside of Sam and gave her a smile of reassurance. David looked to his daughter with stern, somber eyes while Pam kept her head held high. It had been so long since Sam had seen them, at least it felt like forever.

"You told us over the phone that you didn't want to go inside…So we all came out here. You have something you wanted to tell us all? We won't interrupt till you're done, okay? Family honor." Pam smiled and lifted her right hand, perhaps trying to lighten the mood. Once acknowledged by her mother, Sam's nerves started to settle. She knew she should relax, because nobody really was going to say anything until after she was done.

"No I didn't, because…well honor is something that is really important in all of this." She closed her eyes and waited for her heart to speak. She was determined to wear her words on her sleeves, to hold nothing back at all. Her eyes opened and she met everyone's eyes. The ever judging, prodding eyes of Aunt Erika, the mournful and sorrowful eyes of Aunt Isabel, to the avoidant yet concerned eyes of Aunt Nancy, then the calm and peaceful eyes of Aunt Umika, to the ever patient and wise eyes of Aunt Janet. Then her mother, her sweet mother, whom she possibly hurt the most. She had to face everyone, and it was difficult for her to do. Derek took her hand in his and leaned over, whispering to her.

"You can do this. We're right here." Sam nodded with determination and confidence, then took a mighty step forward. No turning back now.

"I was told that I shamed my family, dishonored you all, and lost your respect. I was told that until I've earned that respect and trust back, I could not enter that house." David moved his head back and held his daughter's gaze. "I am honoring those wishes until I truly have earned that respect back. Now, I've hurt a lot of people, everyone in my family. Aunt Umika…"

Umika curiously nodded her head as Sam looked her straight in the eyes. "Through study of your heritage, I've learned that family is a highly respectable network and should never be tarnished. Once shamed, dishonored, it is difficult to gain that back." Umika slowly nodded as her sisters looked over to her. "I'm going to treat my family in the same manner that the Japanese families should treat one another. I've dishonored my family, Aunt Umika."

"Don't tell me, sweetie…" Aunt Umika motioned to Sam's father with her head and Sam gave a knowing nod. Sam turned to her father and locked his eyes.

"I've brought great shame and dishonor to our family, I know the things I have done were wrong and they tarnished not only my relationship with my family, but everyone's relationship with each other. I want to earn that respect back, I want to build it up in whatever I can do."

"How is that?"

"Give me a moment…" Sam wiped her eye and addressed each of her aunts one by one. "Aunt Erica, I know that you've been the hardest on me and you have every right to be." Erica moved her head downward, then back up to Sam's eyes. She pulled her lips firmly down as everyone looked back at her. "I'm sorry." She moved her eyes to Jacob, who stood next to his mother with a wry smile. The image of his cousin in a sexual position no longer bothered him, but it had troubled him for a while after that. "Jacob, I'm sorry that you saw what you saw, I should not have put myself in that position in the first place. I apologize to you and to Aunt Erica."

Moving on, she saw Isabel and breathed in deeply. "Aunt Isabel, words can't express how much guilt I've experienced because of what my actions led to. I can't possibly imagine how you feel, even right now, regarding Uncle Carmine and Greg." Isabel closed her eyes and moved her head to the side, holding her hand up to her chest as her chest burned. "I've caused you so much trouble, so much stress, and I apologize. I know words won't be enough, they won't get them out of prison, and they'll be in there for a long time…"

"Y-Your uncle…needed to serve time anyway for something he did a long time ago…"

"It does not matter. I was wrong." She met the eyes of her other three aunts, she wasn't sure if she hurt them, but then, she knew she caused them plenty of stress. "Aunt Janet, Aunt Umika, and Aunt Nancy…My actions caused you three to get wrapped up in a family dispute that _never_, in a million years should _ever_ have happened." The three aunts frowned at her and breathed in softly. "You had to maintain peace and fix disorder that _my_ actions caused. I apologize if my actions have harmed or shamed you in _any_ way whatsoever."

Her eyes drifted to Melanie and she traced the outline of Melanie's now brown hair. She pressed her lips together and cleared her throat. She held her hands together at her waist while her friends all smiled at her with pride. "Okay. Melanie, and Freddie as well. I'm sorry that my actions almost caused you two so many great things, such as your college. You had every right to be angry with me, and you had every right to never speak to me again. I know my actions caused a lot of emotional and mental anguish for you, and I wish so much that I could take it all back. Melanie, you were the sister that was always there for me, and I took that for granted. I am deeply, deeply sorry for everything."

Now came her parents, the ones who loved her and when they could have, they didn't disown her completely. "Mom, Dad…" Her parents remained erect. Pam was trying to hide her tears, but she couldn't keep them from rolling down. She was so proud of her precious daughter right now, so proud to see her growing up into a woman. If it was true that she was going into the military, then she just _knew_ Sam would become a great woman. "My actions have hurt you the most, I think. My actions may have caused Dad to be ridiculed, my actions cost you, mom, severe anguish and possible fear of losing both your daughters…"

She didn't want to say that Sgt. Evans really helped her in what to say to her family. Everybody that she got advice from basically said that whatever she said now had to be of grave importance, that it could weigh heavily on her future with them. "It's good to take responsibility for my actions now before they cause me serious and devastating harm in the future. I promise you that my actions are over, but I will continue to fight to win your respect back. I will bring honor to my family."

"Again, how will you do that, Samantha?" She looked to her father and kept her back straight. Here it comes, the most important part of this night.

"Dad. Mom. Melanie. Aunts Janet through Aunt Erica, and all my cousins…I have spoken to a recruiter, I will have my physical within a week, but Sgt. Evans says it's surefire…I am joining the Air Force." A collective gasp came from her relatives and she could see their eyes begin to slowly light up with pride.

"The military, Samantha? Nobody in our family's ever been in the military."

"I know. That's why I'm going to be the first to lead my family into that honor. I'm going to train and become that respectable woman that I can be, I want to restore the honor that I have caused my family to lose. Instead of bringing shame upon you all, I want to bring you all glory while also fighting to protect you. _I_ will be in the front lines to keep you, my friends, and my country safe. If it costs me my last breath, so be it, but this is a choice and an honor that they can't take away from me. I just want you to know, I love you. All of you. I will fight for you any day of the week, because you _are_ my family. This nation is my family, and I will serve to keep it safe."

Umika smiled and folded her arms over, gazing with a full heart at her niece. "The military is highly respectable and a high honor, you really are doing your family name a great honor just by enlisting."

One by one, all of Sam's aunts, even Erica herself, smiled at her. If they hadn't seen it before, they could easily see it in her tonight, that respectable young woman that Sam could become. Erica tapped her chin and smirked subtly. "I'm afraid I've misjudged you, Samantha. Good luck in the military, I am proud of who you are becoming."

David glanced back and lifted his hand up, closing his eyes slowly. He wanted to speak. Umika understood and got her sisters to quiet down. In Japanese tradition, it was the _father_ who had the most to say. She didn't know why Sam wanted to go about it this way, perhaps it was to show respect and honor to even her.

David stepped forward and placed his hands on Sam's shoulders, looking into her eyes with a gaze filled with pride. Pam stood behind him, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief while Melanie smiled through the silent tears of joy that were rolling down her cheeks. "Samantha. While you have disgraced your family, it is as Umika might say, a _great honor_ and bringing of grace to your family by showing your determination and perseverance in joining the military. In the end, you are my daughter. You always have and you always will be, no matter what mistakes you make in life. I, your mother, your sisters, and your aunts…even Erica, though she might not show it often, we all love you very much. Yes, we were hurt by your actions, we all suffered on some end, but I know that like a Puckett, you can rise above all of that."

"Thank you, Daddy…"

"Sam, what I saw a couple weeks ago. What I saw was something that my daughter turned into, I couldn't place my finger on it. God, I didn't know what had happened that you would treat your own family in the manner of disregard that you had done, but now…now I can see my daughter clearly." Sam slowly smiled as her heart started to rise up inside of her. "I will be waiting for you to fully come out and be that beautiful, respectable woman that I know you can be. I want you to know that I agree with and honor your decision to join the military, I think it can really help you to become that woman and to put your past behind you. I am…we _all_ are very, very proud of you for taking this step. And as Umika would say, by glorifying your family in this way, you are taking your first step to honoring us. Never, ever, forget who you are and never forget that we love you."

"Yes Daddy…" David quickly hugged his daughter and the two shed their tears. It felt great to be this far, she knew she still had work to do, but this was still a great feat.

After a few more minutes of talking, it was time for Sam to get back to Valerie's house. She sat in the backseat with Derek, resting her head upon his shoulder as she thought hard on the events that had taken place. It went better than she thought it would have.

Valerie put her arm on the back of her chair and looked at the two with a bright smile. Her mind clicked as she remembered what Sam had said before. "So Sammy…"

"I know, I know…" Sam chuckled and Derek started to turn a shade of red. They all remembered the wager Sam said. He looked into her eyes with a slight smile and she returned that smile with one of her own. "Thank you…for being there for me all this time, Derek. Thank you." She closed her eyes and slowly leaned forward, kissing his lips. He closed his eyes and kissed her back. Valerie sighed contently and Jonah's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror for a split second, and even he smiled at the display. Sam pulled apart, her eyes filled with love and joy. She was surprised, the kiss was so relaxing and peaceful, so meaningful. "My god…"

"What? Did I do something wrong?" He sat straight and Sam chuckled lightly, shaking her head.

"No, that was…" He leaned comfortably back in the seat as she rested her head upon his chest. "Perfect…"

* * *

><p>What a nice chapter this was, Sam's on her way. I believe it's the next chapter, could be the chapter after, where we see Douglas enter into Iran.<p> 


	47. The Silent Assassin

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 47 (The Silent Assassin)<p>

Douglas stepped his foot on Iranian soil and narrowed his eyes as he gazed across the plains. He knew how to find Colonel Shay, knowing well that he would be on an Air Force base somewhere. As for Emilio, he had absolutely no idea how to find him. It would be a difficult task, but he was bound determined to complete his mission. The sounds of gunfire exploded in his ears. He narrowed his eyes and scoffed as he made his way across the plains. Naturally in the distance those Iranians and the soldiers of other countries were shooting off rounds twenty four seven. He grit his teeth and watched an Iranian in the distance assaulting a woman. How different were the Niño's compared to that? "When I get back to America, Carlos, you are fucking dead…"

He didn't want to make his presence too known, but at this moment he didn't care. Still, he had but one mission and one mission alone. He groaned and eyed the surroundings, reached down on the ground next to him and picked up an AK-47. It seemed this field was littered with them. He had to think, though, if he fired off that gun, would it not attract attention? He decided he wouldn't shoot it. Rather, he snuck behind a nearby fixture and peered his head around the edge. The woman's scream was agonizing and it tortured his eardrums. He couldn't take it anymore. He let out a loud shout and started running towards the two. The man looked up alarmed as Douglas delivered a flying kick into the man's spine, sending him toppling to the ground. The man rolled onto his back and looked up as Douglas slammed the butt of the gun into his neck, killing him.

The woman started to praise him, but he began walking and ignored her appraisals. What more could he do? He could only send her home, nothing more. She hurried in front of him and bowed to him on her knees. He raised his eyebrow and the corner of his lip twitched slightly. "I'm glad to help you, but I have something important I must do. You see, I have a girl back home that I have to save from a terrible man as well. She's waiting on me. I'm here to rescue her dad, that man sent an assassin to kill him. Colonel Steven Shay, maybe you've heard of him?" The woman's eyes lit up with instant recognition. A smile graced her face and she quickly stood from the ground.

"I, I am knowing…of that man." Douglas lifted his eyebrow and raised his eyebrow. Where it was eleven o'clock Tuesday night in America, it was ten thirty Wednesday morning here in Iran. If anything, Mr. Shay would be in the mess hall of whatever base he was at. "Colonel is on base…"

"Okay, which base? Where is his base located?" The woman turned and pointed off to the right. Douglas looked over with the wind blowing sand into his hair. He nodded and began his walk in that direction. "Thank you very much. Please go where it's safe." The woman nodded and watched him depart into distance. He approached the base and saw the large stony walls scaling high into the sky. "So, here I am…" How was he going to take down a professional assassin? He clenched his jaw tightly and closed his hands, his heart was pounding and begging him to go back to Carly.

Was he deadly like a professional assassin? He was one of the hitman's targets too, so he had to remember that. That aside, what weapon would he use? Knives, guns, fists? Douglas knew karate pretty well, he had a few martial arts in other areas, but not so much. He had to use that to his advantage, considering he didn't exactly like to use guns or knives. If he didn't make it back to America, if he didn't make it back to Carly, then what would happen to him? What would happen to her? He hated to admit it, but this was the worst he'd ever felt in terms of fear. He was almost certain if he wasn't careful, he'd be dead. Did Emilio _know_ he was there? Did Emilio prepare for what might happen if he was? Carlos knew he'd been seeing Carly, so Emilio probably was told that information. So it would be likely Emilio and Carlos were well aware that when they killed Tyrone, he would be the one to console Carly.

As he peered into the base, he saw two large, square buildings, chances were one of those was the mess hall and the other was the barracks. There were other buildings placed about, such as an armory, a training area, rec area, and so forth. He just had to search each of these buildings for Colonel Shay and do everything in his power to _avoid _Emilio. His eyebrows furrowed and he took his first step onto the base, he needed to first find the superior officer on this base, that was either Colonel Shay or Colonel Morgan. One of them was just a Lieutenant Colonel and the other was a full-fledged Colonel. He tapped his foot on the floor and eyed a line of military people jogging along the edge of the base, someone there had to know where he could find either of the men. If he found the man in charge of the base, then he could alert him of Colonel Shay's impending danger. As the men came closer to him, he lifted his hand up and called out to them. "Hey, I need some assistance!" No response. So this time he decided to pay some respect to them and salute them. When he did so, the men stopped and acknowledged him. "I need some help here."

"What do you need help with?" The soldiers never left formation, so Douglas couldn't tell who was speaking to him. He cleared his throat and lowered his salute.

"I need help finding the superior officer, I have to warn him about something. Either the superior officer or Colonel Shay."

"They're both in the mess hall, right behind you." Douglas peered back and nodded.

"Thank you very much!" He took off towards the mess hall as the soldiers continued their jog around the perimeter. Once he entered the doors, he saw Colonel Morgan and Colonel Shay sitting at a long rectangular table having coffee while discussing the events of the day. The two men looked to Douglas as he made his way towards them. "Colonel Shay, you need to come with me."

"Excuse me?" Steven raised his eyebrow and Colonel Morgan folded his arms over questionably. Douglas moved his eyes to the side and thought about his approach. That could have gone better, but really there was no time for discussion. Even on a military base, surrounded by all these officers, nobody was going to be safe from Emilio Gonzalez.

"Colonel Shay, I'm your daughter's boyfriend, and I'm here because your life is in danger. There is no time to explain, right now, we just need to run."

"What are you talking about?" A rustling sound came from the side and Douglas turned his eyes towards the noise. Was that Emilio? No, Emilio never made sounds unless he was trying to distract. Unless he wanted to sound a warning, unless he wanted to play a game of cat and mouse. The two Colonels looked in that general direction as well while Douglas continued to scan the room. Typically Emilio would throw something, or slide it across the floor, to make people look in the opposite direction that he was in.

While the Colonels were distracted, a shady figure crept up behind Mr. Shay. "Shit!" Douglas quickly lunged forward and tackled Colonel Shay to the ground just as a hammer flew overhead and shot out towards the wall. As they looked up, they saw him staring down at him, Emilio Gonzalez.

His eyes were like a demon's eyes, sharp and murderous, and his nose like an arrow. His hair was shaven and he had a scar on the right side of his face, trailing from his head to his chin. His body build was very muscular and his figure alone was enough to strike fear in the hearts of even the most fearsome of men. He almost never let anyone see him, and when he did, that just meant he wanted a game.

"Crap! Come on!" Douglas's heart sped up as he grabbed Colonel Shay up from the ground and began heading out of the building. Emilio's eyes flashed and a wide, sadistic grin came onto his face, the hunt had begun. Colonel Morgan stood frozen with fear as Emilio's eyes slowly bore out at him from his tanned sockets. He wasn't concerned with this Colonel, Morgan was not his prey. Rather, two of his targets were actually here now, this day could not get any better.

Douglas and Colonel Shay ran from the base, sure they were headed into enemy territory, but that was destined to help aid in their cover somehow. If Emilio ran into enemy fire, he could very well be slaughtered. Either that or captured as a prisoner of war. In all honesty, Douglas would rather avoid all fates that could take place today. "Who was that? Where are we going?"

"That was Emilio Gonzalez, number one hit man for El Niño's." Steven's eyes widened and terror washed over his body as he turned his head back to the base. Seriously? El Niño's were after him while he was overseas?

"Did they get a new fucking leader or something?"

"Yeah a crazy ass person who decided he was going to make a small gang become violent and piss everyone off. Anyway, I've ensured your daughter is _safe_, they don't know where to find her."

"They're after my Carly?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you doing over here in Iran?"

"Saving your ass so Carly will be happy." One might think Carly would be happier if Douglas was still alive. Why lose both people you loved rather than lose one? Now it was either none or all. "Now, what we're going to do…we're going to hide _within_ the enemy."

"You're not serious…they'll think we're spies!"

"So be it, but if it keeps you away from that shark out there, good. Right now, what's worse? Iranian soldiers who think you're a spy, or a trained, professional assassin, who could probably kick _their_ ass too, is after _your_ head." Steven paled and quickly began running past Douglas.

"To the enemy camps it is!"

"That's what I thought." Douglas looked back and swallowed hard, he knew Emilio was following somewhere. It was more a question of _where_ was he rather than what was he about to do. He might not be directly behind them, he could be on the side of them. Douglas wasn't about to put Steven in more danger, so when they made it to the camps, he was going to make sure they hid out of their sight as well. "Which point are we stopping at?"

"One of their side camps with just a few Iranian soldiers. We'll be fine to hide there."

"Got it." Steven did know this area, he had to. Once they made it inside, Steven pulled Douglas to the side and ran into a small building that was shaped like a round hut. There wasn't anyone inside, so they just ducked low and sat against the wall. Steven breathed heavily and took a drink from his canteen. "Okay, so again, you're Douglas?"

"Yep, I'm the asshole." Steven rolled his eyes and folded his arms over. He didn't figure Douglas must be that bad if he was actually trying to save him and save Carly too.

"I thought you two broke up?"

"Yeah well…" Douglas moved his eyes to the side and leaned his head back against the wall. "We reconciled. I'm in love with her."

"You two still shooting those videos?"

"No sir. I've removed that site, that life is over." Steven slowly nodded and closed his eyes, continuing to breathe very heavily. Gunfire soon erupted and the two peered up and out of a window. Two Iranian guards were firing at Emilio! "Now is when we root for _your_ enemy, right?"

"Well, that's being a bit vague. The Iranians or the assassin?"

"The Iranians."

"Okay. Then, _go Iran!_" Douglas laughed and the two watched as more Iranians began to surround Emilio.

Emilio had his eyes narrow and was positioned, ready to kill. There were about five Iranians surrounding him. He growled and grabbed one of the Iranians by then neck, then swung him overhead into a second, bashing both of their skulls together. The Iranians froze in sudden fear of this Ox, this raging bull, this monstrous killer. He kicked backwards, shattering the ribcage of the third Iranian, who released his gun. Emilio then grabbed that gun in the air and fired upon the two remaining Iranians, who had already begun running away. Their bodies jerked with the bullets and blood flew out everywhere as they collapsed onto a pool of their own blood.

Douglas and Colonel Shay quickly hid back down, their hearts pumping a mile a minute. The _Iranians_ just lost. This was a thought they were trying to process, but evidently that's what happens when you put a powerfully trained killer in a warzone. "Douglas, I need to tell you something. Carly loves you too…"

"I know…"

"She told me that the last month or two, you're the only one she actually had been with." Douglas slowly nodded as Steven exhaled slowly. "El Niño's, they want to take her for prostitution, don't they? Just like their mother?"

"Yeah. You are aware you fucked up royally when you took Mrs. Shay from them…"

"I know…that's why that assassin's out to get me now, isn't it. I thought Rafael would have settled that old grievance."

"He wasn't going to care about you anymore, but he never undid the order to kill you." Colonel Shay lifted his eyes skyward and groaned out with annoyance and anger. He didn't want to die here, but he had a pretty bad feeling. Currently, they didn't know what Emilio was doing, but by the banging noises outside, he was barreling through the base, trying to find where the men were. "The gang's almost under new leadership. Rafael's become too old and decrepit to lead and the guy vying for leadership has this guy placing a hit on you, and a hit on Rafael. If they take Carly…I'm just going to have to take her back, but I'm going to kill Carlos first…"

"Whatever you have to do to protect my daughter, you do that. As long as you get her out of that lifestyle, you got that?" Douglas slowly nodded his head and Steven took another swig of his canteen. "Douglas, this may come as a shock to you, but I think she may be pregnant…" That stamen froze him and caused all sounds and movements to cease. What had the Colonel just said?

"Pregnant? What?" He chuckled nervously and turned his gaze to Steven, who was not moving. He was simply staring at the wall in front of them. "That can't be, can it?"

"She doesn't know for a fact, she hasn't gotten tested by a doctor. She's told me that she's been feeling sick, she's been having a cramps, and she's even missed her period at one time. She got a test, but never told me the results. She was supposed to tell me today…" Douglas began shaking and he started tugging at his shirt, a nervous habit. Sweat began to drip down the sides of his face and the back of his neck. If Carly _was_ pregnant, then it was _his_ child. He knew that without a doubt. "She could very well be two months pregnant, and if that's the case, I suspect it's your kid, Doug. You need to go back to America and keep that gang from taking her, keep that gang from letting that kid grow up with his mother a prostitute. Though, that's not the worst thing that could happen…"

"I know. Carlos has actually pissed off the four biggest gangs in Washington just by taking some of their girls for prostitution. So if he's not careful, he'll be entering an all-out gang war…Carly doesn't need to be subjected to that. That assassin out there, Colonel…he…" Steven gave him a look of concern, ready to hear whatever news he had to hear. Douglas closed his eyes and sighed softly. "I'm afraid he's killed your father…"

"What?" Steven quickly stood up, rage shooting through his veins. Douglas cursed mentally and started to try and pull him back down.

"Get down, you don't want Emilio to spot us!"

"No, I've had enough of this!" Steven pulled a pistol from his side holster and Douglas winced visibly. A man at risk of losing it all would often do the craziest of things, he knew this well. He understood Steven's anger, his pain, his rage. He too was about to lose his father to a violent man, he too had the woman he love at risk, and surely his whole world could easily be sent to slaughter if he wasn't careful. "If El Niño's think they can get away with all this, they have another thing coming."

"Sir, your son's already starting to wage a legal war against them. If the cops and lawyers don't do them in, then the other gangs will. Leave this alone. Just get _down_ before Emilio spots you!"

"Uh…it's too late for that."

"What?" Steven was standing directly in front of the window, and on the other side just several feet away, standing amid several dead bodies was Emilio Gonzalez. Emilio was breathing hard like a bull and flaring his nostrils. His hands, his feet, his entire body was covered in the blood of the Iranians, mixed in with his own blood. His cold, deadly eyes were staring right into Steven's.

"He's looking right _at_ me."

"Son of a bitch!" Douglas quickly stood up and charged out of the door. Steven gasped and reached out for him, hoping to stop him from doing something stupid. "Emilio! You're dead!"

"Doug no, you have to stay alive!"

"I'm not dying here, now shut up and hide! Or better yet, _run!_" Emilio flattened his eyes and quickly spun around, bringing his fist into the side of Douglas's head. Douglas ducked beneath Emilio's arm and rose up, bringing his fist to a connect with the man's chin.

He then dropped to the ground and slid in between Emilio's legs, rising up behind him and delivering a spinning back kick into the assassin's lower back. Emilio reached back and grabbed Douglas's ankle, twisting it. Douglas shouted in pain and leapt backwards. "You asshole…" Emilio turned towards him, silently gazing at him. He cracked his neck both ways as Douglas started to scan him for a weakness. "Come on you big freak on steroids, you have to have a weak spot _somewhere_."

While Douglas was fighting him, Steven had his gun positioned out of the window and he was trying to lock onto Emilio. It was difficult, since the two were moving so fast around each other, but he was almost certain he'd strike the assassin a deadly blow. He narrowed his eyes cocked his gun back.

Douglas circled Emilio and performed a sideways karate chop towards his neck. Emilio caught it with his hand and slammed his fist into Douglas's abdomen. Douglas let out a loud shout and blood splashed from his mouth and onto the ground. Emilio then grabbed Douglas and threw him into the air, letting him slam hard against a wall like a ragdoll. He groaned and quickly pushed himself up.

"Shake it off. Shake it off." He stumbled forwards and narrowed his eyes as he stared at the behemoth in front of him. He really overdid it by charging in like that. Was his brute force not enough? Probably. Was he going to die? No, not an option. Douglas pointed his hand towards Emilio and growled angrily. "You're _not_ going to kill me here. Not today." Emilio's lip turned up slightly and he charged forward, grabbing his prey by the wrist and pulling his hand backwards. Douglas let out a loud shout and felt Emilio lift him up with his arm under his abdomen. "Bring it, bitch…let's see what you got…what is this, the world wide wrestling federation or something?"

Douglas soon found himself once again thrown into the ground. Emilio punched towards him, but he rolled out of the way and rose up to deliver a kick into Emilio's side. "You haven't disabled me, punci."

What was this man doing, _drinking_ the fucking steroids? Douglas wiped his mouth off and quickly smashed his hand onto Emilio's clavicle bone, but once again, Emilio managed to deflect his attack and counter with a powerful blow to his left arm. Douglas's eyes widened as the bone in his left arm cracked and came undone. He fell to the ground, clutching his arm and howling with pain. A gunshot rang out and he looked up to see Emilio lurch forward, but the giant wasn't dead yet.

"Are you fucking _serious? _Colonel Shay, get out of there!" Emilio turned towards the small building and began his slow approach. "Shit! No! No! Get out of there _now!_" Douglas looked to his arm and saw that his arm was not only broken, but out of his socket as well. He moaned and slowly rose up, holding his limp arm in place. This was going to be excruciating, what he was about to do. Another gunshot rang out, but it missed Emilio.

Douglas charged for the building and turned to his left, closing his eyes tightly as he slammed into the building and popped his arm back into place. He screamed out with terrible pain and felt his legs starting to buckle. He fought the impulse to fall and slowly shook his head. "Hang on Colonel, I'm coming." He started for the door, but froze when he heard the scream of death, following the snapping of bone. His mouth hung open and his eyes widened, Emilio had just snapped Colonel Shay's back on his leg. "No…no…_No!_ You fucking bastard!" He was about to run, but had been kicked hard and sent crashing several feet away.

He groaned and slowly looked up, he couldn't move. His body was too weak. _"Get up. Goddamn it, get up…"_ Emilio took one look at him and flashed his teeth. Douglas's chest was rising and falling, sending painful surges throughout his body. He groaned in pain and let his thoughts drift to Carly. _"No, Carly, I've…I've failed…I can't die here, I just can't. I won't, I refuse to die!"_ If he could get up, he would surely fight, but he wasn't even sure if he would survive. His body was too weak, too limp, too beaten. He'd never felt this way before.

As he watched the assassin, he saw him leaving the camp. Why didn't he finish the job, or was he just leaving him there to die a slow, painful death? That's what Carlos said to do in the email, was it not? Douglas closed his eyes tightly and let out a loud moan. Here he was, on foreign soil some ten thousand miles away from home, away from Carly, away from a possible unborn child. And he was dying. _Dying!_ It couldn't be true, this just couldn't be happening. Not to him, never! It was impossible! His soul was too strong for this, wasn't it? His body tensed and relaxed once more, sending more pain throughout him. As he slowly opened his eyes, taking one last look at the sky above him, he saw several Iranians surrounding him. Well, at least he got that assassin to leave their camp, right? Even still, they didn't look happy. "O-Oh, f-fuck…" He closed his eyes and his head moved to the side. His vision was fading, and the only thing he could picture that put a smile upon his face, was of Carly holding a little baby. He wanted that life, why hadn't he been able to get that life? When you find yourself involved somehow in a gang, maybe that was the reason that life was so hard to come by.

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><p>Carlos-2 Anti Nino's-1 This seems to be the score right about now. Is Douglas really dead? Can it be possible? Maybe the Iranians took him? Or maybe he <em>is<em> dead, only one or two people know the answer to that. The rest can only guess based upon that final paragraph. Douglas gave a pretty good fight, but he also got a good beating out of it.


	48. The Bull versus the Ant

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 48 (The Bull Versus The Ant)<p>

"Two in one? Even better, I am proud." Carlos pat Emilio on the shoulder and laughed. He turned to the line of prostitutes behind him, each of them were curled up in the building. They had designated rooms, but Carlos wanted them out to hear the news. They gazed at Carlos fearfully as he lurched forward. "Boo!" Emilio felt of his chest and huffed, the bullet was still in there and he had no desire to take it out. The colonel had left a mark, it was a mere battle scar, nothing more. Carlos turned to him and grinned. "So tell me how it happened, again? Ooh it send chills down my spine when I hear it!" He laughed again and lifted his hand up. "No, don't, I don't think I could get enough of it and we have stuff to do. I just can't believe Douglas actually went over there! Come, we should pay a visit to a dying old man. He should hear of his son's sorrowful death overseas." Emilio waited as Carlos walked past him, then turned and followed him out the door. The prostitutes scurried into their rooms, knowing that if they left the house, they were sure to suffer violence at his hands.

"You know Emilio, you should go to the prisons where that kid, Dexter is at. You know he shut down that site? Now I can't find out where the other women are!" Emilio huffed and folded his arms over. "You know, you should talk more, I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall whenever we talk." He glanced back as Emilio shrugged his shoulders. "That's beside the point. Anyway, Dexter was a part of Douglas's supporters. The dumb-fuck thinks hiding away in the prison is going to keep him safe. I want you to go in there and I want you to slash that oversized brain of his down to size. Can you do that?" Emilio slowly nodded his head as he entered into Carlos's car. He gazed out the car window as Carlos drove towards Rafael's home. "This is going to be beautiful, you know."

"What about the other gangs?" Carlos raised his eyebrows up and breathed in slowly, he really hadn't given much thought to them. He knew he'd been pissing them off, and he knew that a gang war was almost imminent, but it could be avoided if they played their cards right. Hell, they could win. Surely it wouldn't be a problem. Granted with the numbers that were against their small, one thousand member gang, it looked pretty bleak, but it didn't matter.

"Okay the NSS-14 gang and the Little Valley Lokotes can kiss my fucking ass for all I care. They can take their little thirty three thousand and twelve thousand members and shove them up their shitholes. The Florencia and Vatos Locos can also shove their eight thousand members down their throats. If they want a war, then fuck them, we'll give them a war."

Emilio pressed his lips together and stared straight ahead as Carlos parked next to Rafael's home. The two men silently entered into the home and found Rafael sitting in his recliner. The elderly man looked up to Carlos and Emilio with saddened eyes, he had a feeling he'd be seeing them soon. "My son would make a better leader than you." Carlos rolled his eyes and shifted his weight to the right, he didn't have time to be lectured by the ways of an old timer. "You just want violence, but you don't know what you're getting the gang into. You're going to lead the El Nino's to _ruin_, and a bloody one at that. We do not have nearly enough men as the top four gangs that hold Washington. I suggest you return the women you took from them, avoid a war."

"Shut up old man, your ways are a thing of the past." Rafael closed his eyes as Carlos moved closer to him. "Violence will earn us respect and fear, not just sitting idly by and letting everyone else grow! If we are to be the best, we must fight our way to the top."

"How do you expect to do that against a group with thirty thousand members?"

"We are formidable, old timer. With men like Emilio on our side, we can crush those thirty thousand people!"

"You are forgetting, you have angered _four_ gangs, not just one. You think they will fight you one on one? They will go all out, instead of fighting thirty thousand, twelve thousand, the two gangs with eight thousand all separately, you'll instead be leading one thousand men into a war against sixty one thousand people!" Carlos scoffed and moved his head to the side, gazing out the window angrily.

"Those four are at war with themselves, even, we can use that tactic as a distractor. Plus, if our men are always together, they can be sure to win."

"You might bring it down a thousand, but you are a fool. You should take pointers from my son some time." Carlos moved his head to the side and laughed at the old man. Rafael felt his heart sink as his eyes moved to Emilio. He slowly looked down to the ground and narrowed his eyes. "No…you've, what have you done?"

"Your son is _dead_, old man." The words hit Rafael like the crushing blow of a boxer's fist. His heart started flaring up as he glanced painfully to Carlos. Carlos pulled a gun from inside his pants and aimed it towards the old leader. "The time has come, old timer. It's time to get with the picture, time to catch up with the fucking times, Ese. Now it's time for a new, _better_ leader to take reign of the El Niño's. Join your sons in hell." Rafael swallowed hard and closed his eyes, accepting his fate. He knew Carlos would be too proud to return the prostitutes to their rightful gangs, that would be the only way to avoid war. "Fuck you and your old time ways. This isn't the fucking Godfather anymore, the old mafia leaders, the old gang leaders, they're quickly becoming obsolete. Say hi to Alonzo, Raul, and Douglas for me."

An hour later, Emilio was on the prison site where Dexter was being held up at. Dexter had his legs propped up on a table in the café and was eating the prison food happily, laughing with an inmate he'd befriended. "I'm telling you man, three free meals a day, free medical, the works? This is the _life_, prison or not!" In just a few minutes, they would break for recess and enjoy the fresh outdoors, granted the outdoors was really a large yard fenced in by barbed wire. However, the entire prison was just a genius's playground. He'd already befriended the guards with his intellect and was already on his way to becoming a model prisoner. He'd been granted certain amenities as well. Such as free reign of the prison's computer lab. Most inmates only got a few meager minutes to do anything, he got hours. They didn't know he was actually able to hack into various systems, such as the warden's files, but that was perfectly fine. He didn't do it too often, merely because while the guards trusted him, they still watched him as protocol. He was also ingenious enough that he knew how to make a simple rock into a deadly weapon.

"You enjoy this place too much, Dexter." The guard leaned forward and chuckled as Dexter shrugged his shoulders. "So what's on your agenda today?"

"Look…" Dexter pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small pen. The inmate raised his eyebrow and Dexter pointed to a small coating that was on it. "I've got a protective barrier on it, but this pen now contains several electrical currents that form a very powerful magnet. The coating I have on it, if I were to pull it off right now, this magnet could pull anything within three feet towards it."

"Wow!" The inmate's eyes widened as he took the pen in his hand and stared at it. It looked like a simple pen with a rubber grip, but evidently it was now a magnet. "Can it write?"

"Not anymore, I had to mess around with the ink inside. That's now the conductor."

"I see. So…I have a metal plate inside my body, due to an injury to one of my joints, what would happen if I took the coating off?"

"It would tear that plate out of your body and you would be in a lot of trouble." The inmate winced and placed his hand to his chest, he definitely didn't like the sound of that.

"So, if you and I were to get into a fight and you pulled that thing off…" He handed Dexter the pen and watched as he pushed the magnet back into his pocket with a grin on his face. "I'd pretty much be fucked, wouldn't I?"

"Basically. I wouldn't use it unless I had to, but hey, it's always fun to tamper and to dream."

"Yeah. Makes me wonder what else you have under your sleeve." The inmate sipped a drink while Dexter slowly grinned. He knew how to play with anything, he could turn simple paper into a life threatening device if he so chose. "You hear the El Niño's are starting up a war?"

"Well Carlos has one brewing if he keeps going the way he is. I figure we'll just have to deal until he's been wiped out. Could be a year or so, but if he doesn't stop the warpath, the Niño's will die. I mean hell, you don't have to be a genius to see _that_."

"True. So, with the numbers, what do you think?"

"Well, let's see…" The bell for recess rang, so the two got up and tossed their trays into the trash. "If he's smart, he'd at least return the girls to two of the other gangs at least. If not, then that brings at least sixty thousand people all upon the Niño's. Given the formidability of El Niño's, there are a lot of people who know the lethal points of a body, they know how to remain well under cover and lay low, and there are a bunch of people who fight like they're on fucking steroids." The inmate whistled as they started walking out into the yard. "I'd say if Carlos let's a war begin with all four, and we know at least two of them, the NSS-14 and the Little Valley Lokotes are currently against each other. What doesn't help is that the other _Serenos 13_ gangs are also on the side of the Lokotes, so this means Florencia and Vatos Locos are also against NSS-14. With them already in a war, the Niño's are practically insignificant to them. No one can predict whether they'll try to wipe the Niño's out just to be done with them or ignore them. However, strategizing suggests that the four will find the Niño's as a common enemy, while a small pest, and eventually band together. I'd give the Niño's about one to two years before they are totally wiped out."

"Yeah, I can see that." As the two exited and closed the doors behind them, they found themselves walking into what looked like a bloodbath. Several inmates and guards were littered about on the ground, blood had been splashed everywhere. Standing amid all the bodies was Emilio Gonzalez.

"Oh _shit_." Emilio turned his eyes to Dexter and narrowed his glare. It didn't take long for the genius to know that he had become this man's prey. "Man, you need to run, _now_. That's Emilio Gonzalez! He's El Niño's biggest assassin!"

"You're serious?"

"Go! Tell any inmates still inside to stay inside!" The man nodded and started back in, pushing some inmates that were leaving back in the building. Dexter chuckled nervously as Emilio began walking towards him. There were some inmates and guards huddled up in the left corner of the yard, some were wounded and some were just simply afraid. Dexter spread his legs apart and swallowed hard. "Okay, now none of them need to die, it's me you want, right? Just…don't hurt the face. You should meet Douglas, he'd kick your ass you know." Emilio stopped walking and grinned maliciously, causing the heightened feelings of fear and panic to rise up inside of Dexter. "No, you didn't…you killed him?"

Emilio threw a fist towards Dexter's head, confident that one blow would probably kill him. Dexter let out a shout and quickly pulled a sheet of paper from his chest pocket, stretching it out in front of his face. Emilio smirked and continued his descent. Dexter's body shook and he let out a quick cry. "You're making a mistake!" Dexter pressed a small hidden button he placed on the paper and something quickly glossed over it, letting the sun shine on it.

Emilio's eyes widened as the paper reflected a bright light into his eyes just as his hand crashed onto a hardened surface, shattering the bones in his hand. He roared out and took a step back, covering his eyes with his free hand and shaking the broken one. Dexter chuckled nervously and shook the paper. "I installed a hardened protective coating on the paper just by mixing the molecules in it. It also, as you just saw, or rather felt, is reflexive." Emilio roared angrily and grabbed at Dexter's wrist, then pulled him forward, punching him hard in the chest. Dexter coughed as the wind left his body, how the hell could something hurt so badly? "Not cool, man!" With a grunt, Emilio threw him to the side.

Dexter screamed as he slammed against the prison fence, splintering it a bit with the blow. Thinking fast, he positioned himself in front of the sharp needlelike points that the iron fence formed, reached back and pointed them forward while Emilio began his approach. "Come on, come on…" His body was already in pain and his back was somehow bloody from hitting the fence. Did Emilio throw him hard enough that it cut into his flesh? Possibly. Dexter met Emilio's dangerous eyes and shouted at him. "Come on you oversized blimp! Come get me! You might have taken out Douglas, but you're on a different plane now!"

Dexter's throat clenched as his eyes started to water. His friend was dead, how could he possibly process that? Douglas was never one to mix with the gang, and just by staying out of their business, he ended up becoming a _part_ of it? It wasn't fair! Dexter waited as Emilio pulled his fist back and threw it towards him, just before connection was made, he rolled out of the way. Emilio's eyes widened as his fist slammed into the sharp spikes from the broken fence.

"Fuck you, Emilio!" Dexter ran towards one of the bodies as Emilio pulled his hand from the fence and roared with pain. _"Okay, I've just pissed off the bull. Will a red cape work? No…" _Dexter reached into the dead inmate's shirt pocket and pulled out a chain of paperclips. _"I'm sorry man…" _He gasped as he felt the assassin's hand on his back. He grabbed up some dirt and sand from the ground and clenched it in his hand, hiding the paperclips inside. As Emilio lifted him into the air, he shoved the dirt into the man's eyes. The paperclips scratched at the giant's eyes and dropped Dexter on the ground. His hands flew to his eyes, shoving the dirt and paperclips further in. Dexter whistled and shot to the side, watching as Emilio pulled the chain of paperclips from his eye sockets, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

Emilio turned his bloody eyes towards Dexter and growled, amazingly enough he was not completely blinded. Dexter's eyebrows rose and Emilio started to grab at him. Quickly scanning Emilio's body, he saw that the man had at least one bullet lodged in his chest, it wasn't hard to tell, since there was a scar on his back and a small bump in his skin. That, and Emilio's body had already been shot by some of the guards there.

"Come on you monster, let's go." Dexter ran towards another body and looked up as Emilio turned to him. Other inmates and guards were now watching from inside the building, all of them breathing silently and wondering if they could possibly overpower the assassin. "You kill my friend…Poor Douglas…but poor, poor Carly. When she finds out…" He slowly took out his pen and set it in the hand of the dead inmate. Emilio snarled at him and wiped the remaining dirt flecks from his bloody face. _"A little closer, just a little closer now…"_ Dexter's shaky fingers gripped the protective coating as he watched Emilio closely. He was limping and taking slow strides. Just eight feet away. Dexter counted each inch that the man took and narrowed his eyes. Seven feet, six feet, five feet, four feet. "You won't have to worry about when she finds out. You won't be alive." Just as Emilio stepped within the three foot range, Douglas took off the protective coating and ran for the few guards and inmates piled up in the corner behind him. He covered them with his body in case any bullets or whatever other metals this man might have inside him ricocheted off that pen and into them.

Emilio raised his eyebrow and stared at the pen. Dexter's inmate friend inside watched in wide eyed awe, eager to see what might happen. As Emilio decided to ignore whatever Dexter had just done, a grade A mistake on his part, he went towards the pen in order to pass it up and go after Dexter. Colonel Shay's bullet that he had left in Emilio's body started quivering in the rib that it was lodged into. Emilio placed his bloody hand onto his chest and let out a painful grunt. Then the bullet shot through his heart, shot through his hand and landed perfectly on the pen. Emilio's eyes widened and blood started seeping down his body.

He groaned and fell to his knee. Every other bullet still lodged in his body, there were at least ten of them, came flying out of him. His eyes glazed to the back of his head and he fell forward onto the ground. Some of the bullets had indeed ricocheted and hit Dexter, but they didn't damage him too much.

He slowly rose to his feet and took a deep breath, staring at the body of Emilio. There was no way he was still alive, not after all that. He took a slow step towards Emilio and the dead inmate, bent over, and lifted the pen from the ground. It was stained in Emilio's blood. "Jesus, who would have thought he had that much in him…must be a constant over the years…" In the end, what really killed him had been Colonel Shay's bullet. Dexter slipped the coating on slowly and looked up as the silence was broken by the cheers of his fellow inmates. _"I guess it's brains over brawn, huh, you oversized jock?"_ He let out a sigh and collapsed to his knees from the exhaustion. Not only was he tired, he was bloody and in dire need of the medical personnel, but right now, that was the furthest thing from his mind. He lifted his head to the sky and smiled slightly. "I got him, Douglas. I got him. The idiot messed with the wrong person, what was Carlos thinking?"

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><p>Looks like the score is even now and Dexter has taken out Emilio. Considering Boris is my only reviewer right now...Hope you enjoyed the chapter, Boris! _<p> 


	49. Meeting of the Gang

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 49 (Meeting of the Gang)<p>

Carlos sat at a long oval shaped table in his home, which was an extended building with several rooms that held prostitutes. He was tapping his fingers impatiently on the table while four other men watched him. By now, the whole of El Niño's knew he'd taken over the gang and Rafael was dead. The four people he was meeting with were representatives from the different areas of Washington. The north, the south, the east, and the west. The leaders of each region would wait for the representative to return to them.

The Northern representative wore an eyepatch and had a stubbly moustache with a soul patch. He had long, shaggy hair and a heavily muscular body, covered with scars galore. The north side of the El Niño's was a more volatile part of El Niño's, along with the central Niño's. The northern side was the part where Emilio had come from. The Northern representative was Erik Ramirez.

The Western Niño's were the more martial arts prone thinkers, these were the ones clearly skilled in different fighting styles and techniques. They had little need for weaponry, for their fists and their feet were their most lethal of weapons. This was where Douglas and his family had hailed from. The Western representative was Jason M. Ski. He had short blonde hair, deeply toned muscles and sharp blue eyes that were obscured by his black sunglasses.

The Southern Niño's were the more logic geared thinkers, their minds were their deadliest weapons. The south was where Dexter had grown up in, utilizing his brain to solve the most complex of equations. The representative for the South was a skinnier youth who wore a black hoodie and had half rimmed glasses that rested on his curved nose. He had a somewhat pasty smile and was one of the few non-Hispanic members of El Niño's. His name was Rex Abrams.

The Eastern Niño's were the more weapon rounded members, the more aggressive and war hungry section of the gang. This was the section that Carlos had actually grown up with, and he had just as much of a dangerous killer mindset of any of them. These were the ones who supported Carlos the most. The representative here was a minimally muscular man with a heavily dark tan and a thick Mexican accent. He wore a beanie with a skull on it, had multiple pieces of jewelry about his body and went by the name of Dante Garcia.

"So I want you to tell your leaders that both Rafael and Douglas Madison are dead, and as I'm sure they're aware, that leaves _me_ to take over the gang. In other news, the girls we have taken into prostitution that were a part of the gangs, we have Daniela, Roxie, Georgette, Traci, Megan, Helen, and Jasmine that we've taken out of the girls that Douglas worked with…Of these girls, Daniela is the daughter of one of the leaders of Vatos Locos, we will be returning her to her family and ending the heat we're experiencing from them."

The four men nodded and looked at each other, they had no qualms regarding that aspect. "That leaves Roxie, Georgette, Traci, and Jasmine. Georgette and Roxie are twins, very fierce fighters in the Florencia 13. We will return them, as they bore me to tears. The other two girls, we will not return, for they serve the most interest to me."

"But sir, I don't understand." Carlos turned his eyes to Rex and tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table. Rex started tapping a pen on the table and sighed. "If you return those three girls, that's fine and all, you remove us from the radar of Vatos and Florencia, but those are just the two with the least amount of members. If you refuse to return the girls to NSS and the Lokotes, then it _still_ causes us to be put at risk!"

This started a clamor with Erik and Dante, they were concerned that Rex was just simply overthinking things. Dante started first. "You know we'll be perfectly fine anyway, think about it for a minute Rex…The north side is full of muscular people."

"Yeah, men on steroids, that still doesn't help."

"Then you have us, the weapons specialist. _Besides_, what is the point if there is no war? War is a _good_ thing!"

"I am just saying, we have to think about our own numbers! Right now we _cannot_ handle a war! If we fought with the NSS alone, we might take out just a few meager thousand before they wiped us out completely!"

"Hey not all of us are on steroids over here, most of us just go to the gym quite a bit." Erik defended his people the best he could, it didn't matter that their best assassin _was_ on steroids. It surely didn't _help_ his defense, but it made no difference. Though, they had gotten word that Emilio was dead.

"All I'm saying is we should return the other two girls. Besides, we have _plenty _of prostitutes in here. There's a sufficient amount to serve our needs. Right now, this isn't about the prostitutes, this is about the fate of El Niño's." Jason was on Rex's side here, but he was opting to remain silent. He was merely observing, they didn't necessarily need his input. Whether Carlos knew it or not, sure the entire North and East side, along with _some_ of the South was for him, the rest of the South and the West were upset with Carlos over the extinction of the Madison family. If Carlos played his cards right, he could avoid a potential war amongst the gang, but they had, for the most part, a law against infighting. He knew right now, as they spoke all four points of the Niño's were laying low and keeping quiet, there were mere _days_ before all four of the biggest gangs declared war.

Carlos rested his head upon his head and flicked his eyes to the side, he didn't like people to question him all that much. Jason's silence disturbed him, he wanted to know what that man was thinking. He despised the martial arts people, they were always the most mysterious and the sneakiest of them all. Each trait had some deadly aspect, but the martial arts had the biggest lethality rate, they were excellent at playing dead and excellent at pretending. They could be with you or against you and unless they trusted you completely, you would never know. Their eyes usually betrayed them the most, that was why they would sometimes wear sunglasses. Douglas actually never wore sunglasses around those he loved, those who were close to him, he allowed them to read his eyes and see into his thoughts. Perhaps that was why Carly loved him so damn much, because she could tell he loved her. Because of how the West side was, they had been able to have a member of their group be the leader of the entire gang ever since the foundation. "Jason, what are you thinking? Tell us?"

Jason raised his eyebrow as the other men looked towards him. He stared at Carlos through his sunglasses and narrowed his gaze he thought they should return the prostitutes to all of the gangs, but he knew Carlos was to prideful and wouldn't take into consideration the words of anyone that disagreed with him. That meant Rex's logic would just be thrown out like simple trash. "Whatever you believe is going to be what you decide." Carlos appeared satisfied with that answer, he grinned and looked to the other three men happily.

"So it's settled, Traci and Jasmine will stick around, as will Megan and Helen. The other girls will be returned. Fuck the Lokotes and fuck the NSS. They are already at war with each other anyway, they will not give a shit about us." Jason closed his eyes and breathed out. Rex rubbed his forehead and the other two men leaned back comfortably in their chairs. "Now, another matter…Carly Shay."

Dante raised his eyebrow and folded his arms over, tilting his head slightly. "Douglas's girl? What about her?" Everybody in El Niño's referred to her as 'Douglas's girl'. It was a matter of respect and acknowledgement. "We don't even know where she is! The damn assassin of yours killed that wrinkly old grandfather of hers and Douglas took her somewhere."

"I am aware, I was also displeased with Emilio's actions, I never asked him to do what he did." He had known that the South side and the North side were just as polar opposite as the East and the West, but not only were they opposites, they were a hell of a lot smarter and thus more formidable. Anyone could see that brains would be superior to pure muscle. Sending Emilio to Dexter, aka the strongest member of El Niño's to the smartest member of El Niño's, would just lead to Emilio's death. "Either way, we must continue onward, we have to locate her. The only problem is, how do we do that?"

"Doesn't she work at that strip joint in Yakima?"

"She hasn't _been there_." And he would know, he made sure to check there every night. Although, he _did_ know who her closest friend was. He smirked slightly and grinned. Jason raised an eyebrow and Rex slowly shook his head. "Bridget Duncan is her best friend at the _Divas_. Do you suppose if we took her, it would lure Carly out of hiding?"

"The statistics are likely." Rex sat up straight and pressed his lips tightly together. "However, knowing Douglas, he might have told her to stay in hiding no matter what. Something else would have to happen to pull her out of hiding."

"What more could there be? She literally has _nothing_. Think about it, her father and her lover are both _dead_. Screw her brother, he don't want her."

"That brother of hers is also trying to rally the law enforcement. Don't forget that she also has a friend in college that is joining the police force, if he's as good a friend then he'll be a formidable issue."

"I really don't care, numbers mean nothing to me." Rex sighed and placed his thumb and index finger to his temples. How could Carlos be so stupid? Then again, the statistics were right to say he was. As far as the strongest, most deadly, it was the West side. The South side came to a close second, then the North Side, the West Side was the weakest in terms of strength because they only thought about shooting before asking questions. They didn't think, they hardly ever thought. However, they were smarter than the North side, but yet they still dissed simple logic for some ungodly reason.

"All you care about is _blood_. You need to _think! _If you're going to start a war, you need to make sure you can overpower the others. If you want to be at the top, you can't just simply get there by blowing smoke and ignoring the simplest of reasoning, that's not going to get you there! Understandably, all you care about is sex and money, but what are you going to do when it all comes crashing down? Put your best fighters immediately in the front lines, basically killing them? You already sent the your strongest fucking fighter to his death by not only sending him to take out El Niño's _smartest_, but also a close friend to Douglas! What that means is the guy's going to have an even sharper lethality factor when it comes to the guy that killed his friend! Not only that, but you're right on the verge of starting a fucking war inside of the gang!"

Jason pulled the corners of his lip back and glanced at his watch, he needed to go pretty soon, he had things to do. He rose up from his seat and Carlos looked at him with question. "I have to go, I will report to our leader. I have heard all that is important to us." He would love to destroy Carlos, to tear him apart, but he couldn't. Not here, not now. Besides, how could you kill the leader of the entire gang without causing some sort of ripple effect? Even Carlos caused one among the West and part of the South.

"Fine, whatever, see you around." Carlos waved him off and leaned forward over the table, clasping his hands together in front of his face. Jason stared at him quietly for a second, then walked off. "You know what? We're done here, report back to your leaders. I will return Georgette, Daniela, and Roxie to their homes and individual gangs." He stood from his chair and called the three down, it was not long before the three girls were standing in front of him. Georgette and Roxie were glaring ferociously at him while Daniela was avoiding his gaze. "Carly Shay alone will be worth more than these three." Jason stopped in the doorway and glanced back over his shoulder momentarily. He then closed his eyes and proceeded on to his car.

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><p>Hmm, Looks like Carlos is pissing people all around, and who's this mysterious leader of the South? You'll be surprised by who he is ;)<p> 


	50. Martial Arts Masters

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 50 (Martial Arts Masters)<p>

Jason drove to a typical, small civilian home. It had red and brown brick walls with a black shingled roof. There were two windows in the front, positioned on either side of a door. He sighed deeply and walked towards the front door, knocking softly. The door opened to reveal a thin man with olive skin, he was sixty five years old and had a full head of hair. He also used a walking cane to move around. The man recognized Jason and stepped outside. Jason slowly removed his shades, revealing sadness in his eyes. "George, your brother has been murdered by Carlos Rodriquez and your Nephew is believed to be dead."

George's eyes widened and he moved his hand to his chest, he had been waiting for word on this for quite some time. "Rafael, Doug, they're both dead?" His eyes quivered and Jason placed his hand to the man's back, helping him back inside. It was hard on him when he learned that Alonzo and Raul had been killed, but now his own brother and best nephew? He'd never been a part of that goddamn gang that Rafael had been a part of, he never even _wanted_ to be a part of it. "Douglas was always trying to stay out of that…I don't understand…Can you possibly explain to me how I can lose my entire family in just a few weeks?" He clutched his brown walking cane tightly, his knuckles turning white. "This is the life that my brother wanted to lead, this was the life that my brother loved. Is there any justification for it at all? Is there any reason, reason enough, to say it's okay to live like that?"

"No, I'm afraid there's nothing good enough that can ever explain it. If I could even explain it, I would. Now the leader of El Niño's is going to lead the entire gang to ruin-"

"Good! Let him!" Jason winced as George slammed the end of his cane on the ground. "Let that fucking bastard, the cause of my family to die, meet his end by the hands of the other gangs and the Washington government! There is no way to continue on our family name now…" George hunched over and placed his hand over his eyes, sobbing quietly as his hand tightened more on the cane. "That war they're fighting in Iran, it doesn't seem nearly as painful as the war that we are fighting right here on American soil, does it…"

"It's all in the eye of the beholder, sir." This man was the one Douglas wanted Carly to stay with. This man was perhaps the most formidable martial arts master around. Hell, Rafael was always saying how great it would be if his brother actually was a participant in the gang. "I need to get Carly Shay and I need to bring her to you, your nephew ordered me to do that." George raised his eyebrow and looked to Jason curiously.

"Why? Who is she?"

"She is his girlfriend, his lover." George breathed in and leaned back in the couch. That was risky business, loving the son of a gang, but it could not be helped. "He wants her to be protected until Carlos is dead." George rubbed his bearded chin and slowly nodded his head, he would honor his nephew's wishes and protect her. If it was important to him, then he had no other option. "Can you look after her? I will go get her and you will be sure to watch her?"

"Yes I will."

"Thank you." Question was, why hadn't he just retrieved Carly in the first place? Was he perhaps covering his bases this way, in case he were being followed? "First, I need to inform my leader of Carlos's actions, and then I will get her and bring her to you. Remember this, your nephew was very formidable, I am almost certain that he did not go down without first putting up a good fight. His death has been avenged."

"It has not." Jason lifted his eyebrows up as George rested his chin upon his hands, which were atop his cane. He narrowed his eyes and stared straight ahead. "Whether or not that assassin that did him in is dead, Carlos Rodriquez still walks. Until that man is dead…Douglas will have died for _nothing_. I want the man who ordered my nephew's death to be erased from existence. The man who ordered my family destroyed must be killed." Jason narrowed his eyes and nodded respectfully. He would promise Carlos's death, and if he had to, he would bring Carlos's head to George on a silver platter. George lifted his eyes to Jason's and motioned his hand.

"Goodbye, if I do not return, assume something has happened. Stay low, but I don't need to tell you that." Jason left the house and entered his car, first checking everything to make sure it was safe. Nobody would dare mess with the old man in that house, he actually taught martial arts and was one of the biggest martial arts teachers in the entire area. Carlos would be the biggest dumbass in the world to try and attack George Madison. His eyes bore onto the road ahead of him as he drove off, next stop was just miles from this area.

When he made it to his leader's house, he stepped out of his car and leaned against it to take a quick breath. He wasn't sure how the leader would handle hearing that Carlos wasn't backing out of a potential state of war. He had to take everything in and figure how to explain the circumstances. Chances were, Rex's leader would end up irritated and pissed off as well. Jason smirked and closed his eyes. On the contrary, Carlos, Emilio, and the other representatives had played it dumb. The leader of the South side was running the South from a prison cell in Seattle, WA. By sending Emilio after Dexter, that leader already knew of Carlos's stupidity. The impeccable young leader of the South side _was_ Dexter. Nobody would ever be able to tell, though, as he never acted it. He was a brilliant master of disguise. There was none more _fit_ to be the leader of the South than Dexter.

The leader of the East was simply a relative of Carlos, a brother. He was a scrawny, yet scrappy kid of twenty seven years. He had a great knowledge as a weapon's specialist and owned several guns and knives, most of his knowledge, he had gained from his father. The North Side leader was perhaps the second biggest man in the entire gang. He was a dangerous, vicious man with fists that could crush brick into dust. Now the leader of the West was a cunning, stealthy, and extremely formidable foe. This person had eyes that could burn and a body that seemed to be capable of killing in a single touch. The hands and the feet may have been this one's most lethal weapon, but it was the fiery glare that would stop the enemy in their tracks. It was the silent steps that made the enemy unsure, and the constant, considerable skill in taking out the prey. By far, within the gang, on the West Side, and perhaps in the entire Washington Gang, this leader was the most dangerous, deadliest, rage-filled, cunning killer of them all. In every way, they deserved the honor of being leader.

He took a step forward and stopped walking right before he stepped on the front porch. When he did this, two guards hopped out of the shrubbery on the sides. They crossed their arms and gave him a brief nod. "You are here for Alex?"'

"Yes." Alex should be the leader of the entire gang, simple as that. Alex knew how to run it, but for certain reasons, they just wouldn't let Alex run it, despite the deaths that occurred. The guards opened the door and Jason stepped inside the large home. Alex lived in a two story mansion, built with white wood. The floors were white tiles and a big spiral staircase in the center of the house led up to the second floor. Jason closed his eyes and began his ascension to the top floor. When he got up there, he saw a woman with a long black ponytail draping over her shoulder, which was covered by a jogging uniform. This woman was watching a martial arts instructor video and performing the sacred art of the Dragon.

She let out a shout and pushed to the side, holding her palm forward and letting her fingers curl into her palms. Her left arm was curled inward and her fist balled up. Her right leg was forward and her left leg back. Her eyes were narrow and her face fierce and deadly. She slowly closed her eyes and brought her right arm in, then gracefully slid to the right, towards Jason, and pushed her right hand out with a loud shout. He swore he could feel the wind punching him back. "What is the news?"

"Alexis…your brother, as well as your father…are dead." Alexis's expression did not change one bit from the fierce tigress that she wore. She simply closed her eyes and faced the television, letting out a loud shout and punching both of her palms out to the sides. He pushed his sunglasses onto his face and clenched his fists to his sides. He watched as Alexis performed a complex martial arts move, extending her hand in a receiving position.

"This instructional video does not show nearly enough proper martial arts moves, it is a complete piece of shit. Can you hand me that remote on the table? Quickly." She motioned her eyes towards the remote on the coffee table and Jason hurried over and grabbed the remote, then tossed it to her. She grabbed it from the air and clicked off the television. "Thank you. Now, come."

"Right." Jason positioned himself in front of her and she stood erect before him. They bowed and instantly pushed their left legs back and thrust their right palms forward, hitting their bottom palms together. Alexis roared and spun around, throwing a kick his way and he quickly put his arm up, deflecting it.

"Have you spoken with my uncle?"

"Yes." He pushed her leg to the side and brought his other hand in a knife hand strike to her right waist. She pushed his wrist away with her left hand and brought her right hand to his neck, stopping just before hitting him. She narrowed her eyes as he tilted his head to the left.

"I understand that my younger brothers died because of a family dispute with Douglas." She was twenty eight years old, nobody really knew her as the elder sister of Alonzo, Raul, and Douglas. "However, am I right to assume Carlos Rodriquez is the primary cause of my father and my brother to die?" Even she couldn't hide the fury in her eyes, she was in mourning. Her fighting style did not change much, on the fact that Jason was not the cause for her grievance. "I never wished for Douglas to become a part of this gang, even I do not condone some of the actions of El Niño's. For example, the prostitution."

"Right." Jason circled her and she kept her eyes locked onto him. He let out a series of blows, in which she dodged by executing a back-flip. He advanced and she continued the back-flips. On the fourth one, she was crouched over her left knee and had her hands on the ground as a marathon runner would. She yelled out and rose up, thrusting her hands out and in against Jason's neck, once more stopping just before hitting.

"You're leaving yourself open, you should not do that." It wasn't easy to not be distracted by her, most men were distracted when they saw a woman such as her causing so much destruction and damage on the battlefield. "Carlos doesn't know he's already waging a war, if he's pissed off Dexter, then he will also have the entire South against him."

"Some of the South is with Carlos, though. Granted, they feel he should return all of the girls he's taken in order to prevent an all out war with the other gangs. He refuses to do so, only returning the three that belong to the least threatening gang in size of numbers."

"Carlos is a fool!" She lifted her leg and kicked hard into Jason's chest, sending him back against the white couch. He looked up and as she began a slow approach towards him. She had the figure of Angelina Jolie, that was how distracting she could be. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him up, glaring into his eyes. "I am on the verge of declaring a war against him…please tell me you have better news."

"I do not." She roared and pulled him off the couch, then proceeded to push him against a wall. He put his hands on her wrists as she gripped the chest of his shirt with her hands. "But I do have more news."

"What? What could be more discerning and upsetting than _Carlos_ becoming the leader of El Niño's? I curse my father's traditional, old fashioned ways of leadership, preventing a woman from leading…"

"Yes. Well, you know that girl that you advised Douglas to stop seeing in order to keep the gang from forcing him to hand over?"

"Carly Shay? Yes."

"He started dating her again." Alexis continued to stare in his eyes, her chest rising up and falling slowly. She pushed her left leg back and raised her eyebrow up. "He died going over to Iran to save her father from Emilio Gonzalez's hands. Carlos has had his eyes on her. He gave me the order to take her to your Uncle's house where she would be safe. She is currently hidden in a motel in Yakima…Southern Niño territory. Carlos wants to take her and force her into prostitution. He does not know, there is a possibility of her being pregnant. A gang member working at a drugstore spotted her purchasing a pregnancy kit. If she is indeed pregnant, then-"

"It will likely be Douglas's child." She narrowed her eyes and moved them to the sides, releasing her grip just barely. She could potentially be an aunt, the Madison name would continue with that child. It wouldn't continue with her, obviously, considering her last name would change due to marriage. "If Carlos gets his hands on that woman, it _will_ be a declaration of war!"

"He is the head leader, whatever he says goes, is that not the law of the land?"

"That was when my father was alive and nobody questioned his methods. There are four leaders, Jay. Four leaders and four assistants, if two leaders agree on one thing and the head leader goes blatantly against, ignoring the counsel of the leaders and their assistants, a war can be waged."

"Yourself and Dexter, you two are the only ones who disagree."

"Do not be fooled, Carlos has made a mistake sending Emilio to his death. By doing so, he has pissed off the Northern leader entirely. Emmanuel is with us as well. Now, go and ensure Carly's safety."

"The gang wishes to take her friend, Bridget, first, in order to lure Carly out."

"I see…then if you must, find her first." Chances were Bridget was working at the club, which meant if Carlos went there, he would be going there with some of the gang members. The club did not allow any of El Niño's inside, this would only end badly. "When you are finished, report back to me."

"I will." She smirked slightly and leaned forward, kissing him for luck. He closed his eyes and placed his hands on her waist, kissing back. She pulled back and stepped away from him.

"Go. Now. I will discuss with the other leaders after they have spoken with their assistants." Jason nodded and started down the steps, feeling her eyes upon him as he departed. She slowly licked her lips and returned to her martial arts training, letting out a loud shout as she punched the air. She could not be mad at her youngest brother for having returned into a relationship with Carly, no one could control the feelings of love when they were felt.

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><p>So Douglas has a sister, I hope that at least shocked you. Well you know the drill.<p> 


	51. Bargaining chip

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 51 (The Bargaining Chip)<p>

Jason snuck into the strip club and glanced around the area, he was wearing a bouncer's uniform and kept his typical shades on his face. It was nine in the evening and he was almost certain Carlos would be appearing any minute now. He had backup positioned outside the building, and once they saw Carlos, they were to enter whether or not the bouncers in the front stopped them. He tugged on his uniform and opened the door to where the dancers were relaxing. They looked to him and he kept his usual stern, hardened expression. "Which of you is Bridget? I'm new here."

"Oh that would be me." He turned his eyes over and saw Bridget rise up from a chair, she had been reading. She wasn't due to start dancing for at least another half hour to an hour. They'd had to make some changes when Carly disappeared. She gave him a smile and held her hands behind her waist. "Is there something you need that I can help you with? I can tell you what to do."

"No, there's nothing I need. Though, is my tie straight enough?" Bridget raised her eyebrow and walked towards him. The other dancers went on to whatever they were doing.

"Here, it's more like this…" She reached for his tie and began to push the knot up some. He lifted his hand up and rested it firmly on her wrist. Her eyebrows rose and she gazed up to his eyes. "Uh, sir?" He spotted a wedding ring on her finger and moved the corners of his mouth down into a hint of a scowl. What was a married woman doing working at a strip club? Did her husband agree with that choice?

"You're married and yet you're working at a place like this?" Her eyes moved downwards and she gazed sadly at her wedding ring. There was so much more to that ring than what most people thought. She wasn't cheating, she was just doing the best she could to gain money.

"I'm not married, actually. I'm a widow…" A young one at that, it hurt deeply to lose a husband so soon. She was only twenty one, turning twenty two very soon. "I have two young children at home, both girls, and an ailing father that I'm taking care of. They all need me, and this is the only way I can seem to make money right now. I have a boyfriend and he doesn't seem to mind this lifestyle of mine for now, he says once we get married and he can actually start using his own money to pay for a life, then I don't have to work another day again. It's kind of like what Carly says about Douglas, she says he has an older sister who is running a martial arts studio somewhere and making a lot of money that way, she's going to hire him once he turns twenty one, then he'll be making a lot of money too." Jason frowned and his eyes darted to the side momentarily, he hated to have to be the deliverer of such painful news. "Anyway, my boyfriend and I might be getting married in a few months, then I'll replace this ring with his ring…but I'm going to keep this one in a safe place."

"I see…you have so much to live for…I need you to get out of here." He lowered his voice to a whisper and she furrowed her brow. What was he talking about? Her blood began to rise as his eyes narrowed. "You're in danger, Carly's in danger. I've got my men positioned outside, but they probably won't be able to stop Carlos from coming in here…"

"Carlos? You mean that gang member who keeps getting inside?"

"Yes. He's…he's killed Douglas and taken over El Niño's." Bridget gasped and her eyes began to widen. That couldn't be! "He can't find Carly, he is going to come here tonight and use you in order to lure her out of hiding. You have to come with me. Now. There is no question. If Carlos takes Carly, then the West and South leaders of El Niño's will wage a civil war against Carlos. It is better for Carly, yourself, your children, father, and your boyfriend for you to come with me now."

"Y-You can't be serious."

"I don't joke around and I do not lie." She swallowed and slowly nodded her head. She had no choice, as he was saying. She was about to open her mouth and say she would leave to safety with him, but the patrons outside began screaming. "Shit! They're here!" He quickly tore off the top of his uniform and hurried out of the room to see Carlos and five of the East Side Niño's firing off rounds in the air. Two of the bouncers were already on the ground, clutching their legs.

"Give us the Chica named Bridget or you all die. We _know_ you fear us." Just then, the owner, Adam rushed out to attack Carlos, but he was shot down. Bridget screamed out and Carlos grinned at her. "I assume you are Bridget."

"Shit!" Jason rushed towards Carlos and performed a flying kick into his chest. He landed on his feet as his prey crashed to the ground. The other members gave him a fearful look and shifted their guns toward him, but the six men he had stationed outside grabbed them from behind and pinned them to the ground. Carlos looked up, his chest rising and falling erratically.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Following orders. If you wish to avoid a civil war, you will stop your antics now." Carlos sneered at Jason and his hatred spilled from his veins, he was in no way ready to quit now. In an instant he pointed his gun to Jason and shot him in the chest. Jason gasped and fell to his knees as Carlos rose to his feet and slowly walked towards him. "You bastard…"

"You should have known not to pick a fight with me, Ese. I knew you could not be trusted. So I am not surprised by your betrayal in anyway." Jason clenched his teeth together and let out a dangerous growl as the blood seeped through his fingers and his lips. "I understand that you martial arts masters are all well trained instructors somewhere, I understand that you _think_ you're better than the East side just because you can use the power of your fists and your feet, but what happens when the day comes that one of you dies by a gun?" Carlos chuckled sinisterly and pointed the barrel of his gun towards Jason's forehead. "You may _think_ your moves are faster than a speeding bullet, but when it all comes down to it, you are not."

"What happens, you ask? What happens is you start a civil war. You do not want to piss off the Tigress. Just because the leader of the East is your brother, it doesn't give you the upper hand. You may think that everyone supports you, but you will see…when you make all the wrong mistakes…just how wrong you really are." Carlos's face twisted in a mix of hate and anger. His arm jerked upwards as he pulled the trigger and sent the martial arts master flying backwards. Bridget cupped her hands together as Carlos turned towards the fighters that were here for Jason, all of his men, along with the majority of Jason's men, were unconscious. He clenched his teeth and brushed it off. He advanced to Bridget, put his arm around her waist and scowled into her eyes.

"You're coming with me while Mr. Flying Lotus here bleeds out on the precious stage."

"You bastard!" She punched his chest and he laughed at her, mocking her attempts. He didn't care who he pissed off as long as he got what he wanted, and if it meant sending the Niño's to ruin, so be it. He didn't think it would happen, everyone just needed to get with the game and see things at his level. "I won't go anywhere with you!"

"Just shut up, don't make a scene, Chica." He held his gun out to the many people watching with fear and started walking out the door, dragging Bridget along with him. He didn't care about her, she was of no use. Once he was done with her and he got what he really wanted, he'd send her on her way. "And before you say you won't help, remember that I didn't ask for your help." He opened his car door and threw her in the backseat. She started kicking her legs, hoping to hit him. He proceeded to point his gun at her and she instantly stopped. "Like I said, I _don't_ need you. I can waste you right here, right now, if I so chose to. I'm going to be nice, though. Once I'm done with you, I'll send you on your way. If you ever tell anyone anything though, keep in mind that I will find you, and I will kill you."

Bridget silenced as he got into the car. She let out a whimper and her tears started to come down. Carlos motioned for the driver to get the hell out of there. He probably just pissed off the South by doing this, but once more, he did not give a shit. He did wonder who the South's leader was, it was hard to be the leader of a whole gang and not know who one or two of your leaders beneath you were. "Now, I will gladly take your phone…"

Bridget shook her head as he pointed his gun underneath her chin. He scanned her with his eyes and chuckled, she really could be useful as a prostitute. She was just a bargaining chip for the real treasure, though. He spotted her phone in between her breasts and quickly grabbed it, causing her to gasp and move her hands to her breasts defensively. "Asshole!"

"Thank you." He flipped the phone open and scanned down the contact list until he found Carly's name. Smirking dangerously, he dialed her number.

Carly paced her motel room floor, running her hands over each other time and time again. Her mind was resting on Douglas and she was praying hard for his return to her. She needed him, god she needed him. Her hair was a ruffled mess and her eyes were red and stained with tears. She couldn't stand it if she lost him. She knew her father was gone, she'd been watching the news when they said they found his body. God it was the worst moment of her life, she just wanted someone to hold.

Someone snapped him in two, it couldn't have been the Iranians. He died due to a broken spine, not any kind of gun wound. Douglas hadn't been found, they said there was no other body in the vicinity of Colonel Shay, so had Douglas never found him? Did Emilio beat him there? God she was going crazy just thinking about all of this. She lifted her hand to the back of her neck and stared at the windows. She needed to wait for this Jay guy, but how long would it even be till he came around? She needed something.

Then her phone rang and she quickly pulled it from her pocket. Her eyes widened when she saw it was Bridget, why would she be calling again? She told Bridget not to call back unless it were an emergency! She quickly answered and put the phone to her ear. "B-Bridget? What's wrong?"

"Hang up the phone!" Bridget screamed in the background, but Carly couldn't hear her completely. She squinted as Bridget let out another scream as though she'd just been punched.

"Bridget!" A familiar voice spoke after clearing his throat and Carly's eyes widened tremendously.

"Carly, how wonderful that we should speak again. I have some great news and some…not so great news. Good news for you, Emilio Gonzalez is dead. He was promptly killed by Dexter." Carly's lip trembled and she cupped her hand over her mouth, letting out a choked sob. It couldn't be Dexter, that would mean Emilio had returned to the states! If that was the case, then it could only mean one thing. "Terrible news for you. Douglas…is dead."

"No!" Carly dropped her phone and fell to her hands and knees, cupping her hand over her mouth and clenching her eyes tightly as she started to sob. Carlos waited with a sick grin upon his face as Carly brought her head to the floor and began to bawl. "It can't be!"

"Yes, yes, your lover is dead, died a horrible death at the hands of Emilio Gonzalez. Worry not, though, dear old Carlos is going to take care of you." Carly screamed again as she began to put two and two together. He might hurt Bridget, she couldn't let him do that! "There is just one thing, I know you won't come with me willingly, so I'm proposing a trade."

"W-What do you want?"

Carlos chuckled as he trailed his gun down Bridget's neck and across her trembling breasts. "If you come with me, I promise I will release Bridget. If not, then she will become a prostitute of El Niño's. It won't matter much, I'm pretty sure that was the owner of the strip club I killed back there, along with Douglas's contact who was supposed to be protecting you."

"No!" Carlos lifted his eyebrows as Carly grabbed her phone frantically and hovered over it. Her tears dripped onto the number pads and she leaned forward. Bridget screamed out for Carly to refuse, for Carly not to worry about her. She didn't want her friend to have to go into prostitution, not like this.

"What was that, Miss Shay?"

"D-Don't hurt her, _please_. She…she has everything to live for!" Carly wanted her to return to her family, she wanted Bridget to have a happy life. She could live now, she could enjoy her life. "I-I have nothing anymore…"

"Carly!" Bridget screamed out as she leaned for the phone. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you! Now shut up! You have children to think about, children and a dying father!" Bridget's lower jaw trembled with fear and pain as her eyes released the tears. She wanted to fight Carly tooth and nail on this, she still had so much to live for, whether she saw it or not. "I-I'm at the Yakima Inn…room nineteen…" Carlos grinned and placed his arm on the back of the seat, looking into Bridget's eyes.

"Congratulations Bridget, Carly just bought your freedom." Bridget huffed and turned her eyes to the side as the driver parked alongside a curb. Carlos turned back to the phone and continued to speak. "I will see you in a few minutes Carly, don't go anywhere." He hung up the phone and reached over Bridget to open her side door. She gasped and let out a scream as he shoved her outside in the rain, then tossed her phone on the ground in between her feet. "Goodbye, maybe we'll meet again."

"Asshole!" Carlos laughed and slammed the door shut as the driver sped off. Bridget picked up her phone and dropped to her knees, sobbing frantically as the rain drenched her hair and clothes. This couldn't be happening!

Carly stared at the phone for the longest time, she wasn't sure how long. Her thoughts were on the last minute she had with Douglas, and now he was dead? She tightened her fingers on the carpet below her and sobbed. Why was she losing everything and everyone she ever cared about? Why did this have to happen to _her_?"

Suddenly her stomach lurched, but she couldn't move. Instead, she beat her cell phone to the side and let the contents of her stomach erupt onto the floor. She moaned and trembled with fear. What had she done? She knew she accepted because she now had no one or anything to live for, but in the end, was it worth it? Maybe.

As she sat there, contemplating her fate, the door slammed open. She could barely react, she didn't even care. When he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up, she only let out a small sob. It was over for her now, she was numb. She would give _anything_ to have Douglas with her right now. If he could just appear, then everything would be all right.

* * *

><p>Well Carlos will have just pissed off everyone left to piss off, if Alexis isn't already pissed. Then there's Dexter, Douglas, and anyone else. Next chapter will be a meeting of the four leaders. Well three leaders, the East's representative will be there in place of the leader. Probably would have been better if Jason went to Carly first, then the gang figured a way to protect Bridget, but sadly that didn't happen.<p> 


	52. Civil War

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 52 (Civil War)<p>

A week later, Alexis was meeting with the leaders of the North, South, and the representative of the East. They were to discuss the state of leadership on Carlos. North's leader, Emmanuel Ramirez sat at the end of her white, crystal glass table. He was a strong figure, had a full head of hair that usually appeared as bed hair. He had one scar on either shoulder and was wearing a black muscle shirt. The East representative, Dante, as in place of his leader, Carlos's brother. He was on the left of Alexis and sipping from a blue tinted glass. The South leader had allegedly not arrived yet. "Listen, Carlos is just a little wet behind the ears, but he'll get it." Alexis watched with narrow eyes as Dante took a large drink. This little prick was defending Carlos all around. Surely the East was the only one that wasn't completely pissed off or irritated with Carlos. "You think he _meant_ to piss of the other two gangs? What are they, the Lokotes and the NSS? He's just letting his pride get in the way." Emmanuel clenched his hand and pounded his fist upon the table, causing Alexis to shoot a glare at him, warning him to watch the glass. He chuckled nervously and patted the spot then turned his irritated eyes to Dante.

"His _pride_ is going to get us all killed. I lost my loyal bodyguard thanks to him." Dante sank back nervously and flicked his eyes to the side. He knew he should not piss the leaders off today, because whatever the _leaders_ said went, and if you pissed one off and they killed you, it didn't make a difference what the other three thought. You were as good as dead and nobody was going to be concerned. "Then your leader has the gall to not show up at any meetings whatsoever."

"You think that's my fault?" Dante rose up and put his palms on the table, glaring at Emmanuel, who looked about ready to punch him in the face.

Alexis cleared her throat and the two men silenced. Emmanuel breathed a small sigh and went on calmly. "It has been a week since Carlos took over the gang, and already we're suffering heavy losses, yet the other gangs haven't even started to fight us yet. Carlos needs to prepare, but instead, he's opting to piss everyone off. It's a dangerous game that he's playing. I think, however, we all know why he's here. Carlos has taken Douglas's girl as a prostitute…"

"So what? I mean it's not like Douglas himself is going to come back from the dead and kill us all." He took another drink and looked towards the empty right seat, where was the South's leader? "And you're ripping on my leader not being here, what about that guy? Besides, how is _Dexter_ the leader? I mean, who would have known!"

"If you did not know, the ploys work…" Dante's head shot up as the voice of the mysterious leader of the South wafted through the air. They all looked towards the entrance to see Dexter with a button up white shirt, black slacks, and a sports jacket over his left shoulder. His face was hard and fierce. "If you act timid and weak, people underestimate your true abilities and who you are." They watched silently as his black wing tips tapped the floor with each step. He placed his coat onto the chair neatly and turned his eyes to Emmanuel. "Forgive me for having killed Emilio in the manner that I did."

"If he was dumb enough to not realize who you were, then it is his own fault. I don't hold his death over your head." Dexter slowly nodded and looked over to Alexis with a soft smile, he placed a pink rose in front of her and moved his hand back to the chair. A pink rose was often given for condolences, or sympathy. "I'm sorry for your losses." Alexis closed her eyes and lifted the rose from the table and set it on her lap.

"We've all lost someone, Dexter." All except the East, what had they lost? They were happy with the way things were going. Dante rose back up from his seat and pointed to Dexter curiously.

"Where have you been? How did you get out of jail?" Dexter slowly turned his head towards the not-so-very-bright representative. Everybody knew how he got out, at least they were certain of it. In legal terms, when a criminal commits a heroic act, it can grant him release from prison.

"Good behavior. That, and I saved many lives that day." Dexter took his seat and let a small smirk form at the right corner of his lip. "Dante, your side is the only one that hasn't suffered a loss. Now, I've been here. In fact, you were the last of us to arrive, I arrived second. How much of that glass have you drank, Dante?" Dante's eyebrow arched as he carefully sat down and turned his eyes to the near empty glass of tea. His hands began to shake as he felt Dexter's deadly and furious glare upon him. What had he done to his drink? "There are four glasses." Dexter removed his glasses and pushed them into his shirt pocket, he had no further need for them. "There's a green tinted one, a red, a blue, and an orange one. Now, I have put a slow acting poison that first paralyses, and then slowly attacks the cells inside of you, causing the inflammation and shutdown of every single organ."

"What?" He shifted his eyes towards his drink and swallowed hard, surely Dexter wouldn't have done that to _him_?

"Which one could it be? Has anyone experienced the first sign, your limbs begin shaking on their own?" Dante paled as he stared at his trembling, sweaty hands. Emmanuel looked over momentarily, then away with an uncaring glance. Alexis watched quietly. Dexter smirked and leaned back. "I see…you will be dead by the end of this meeting. I have put in just enough to make you last until then. We've figured if each of us must lose somebody, then the East will lose someone too. Don't try to complain or question the inevitable, it will only be more torturous and excruciating for you."

"H-How could you?" Dante tried to stand up and attack Dexter from across the table, but his body froze in mid leap. Dexter leaned back in his chair as Dante fell back into his seat, paralyzed completely. He tried to speak, to shout, but his mouth would not open. Slow acting, he said? The paralysis was _fast_ acting.

"I never said the paralysis was slow acting. Now, on to business…" Dexter straightened his tie as Alexis and Emmanuel looked to him for his opinion. "We can only _assume_ Douglas is indeed dead. If he wasn't, then unlike what this prick Dante said, the higher ups of this gang, including Carlos himself, would most likely be fucked over." Dexter slowly breathed in as Alexis straightened herself. Douglas's chances of being alive were hard to see, but considering nobody even reported Douglas's body, he was either dead or alive. "Now Colonel Shay was found inside this Iranian camp…" He handed out some sheets of paper that he'd come in with and Alexis looked hers over thoroughly.

"What is this? A docket on the camp, it isn't telling me much…"

"True, it lists the information on that camp. It was small, not many Iranians there. There was a report from one Iranian who had been there, he said a largely muscled individual attacked the camp and there were _two_ Americans that fought with him. The media doesn't mention this, why? This isn't the report hat was given to them…they're hiding something. They may be hiding Douglas's body, or they might not."

"I've inherited half of my father's estate and all he's worth, Douglas the other half. Until a body is turned over, that half will sit there. Douglas also will be missing his classes at the university, he wanted to become a doctor…"

"Yeah, he would have made a good doctor." The three leaders bowed their heads in respect of a good friend. Alexis's face hardened more as Dexter folded his arms over. "I think it's time to get to the real business matter of today. We know that Carlos has Carly, we also know they don't know yet and Carly doesn't know for a fact, that she's pregnant." Emmanuel laughed and a smirk formed at his face.

"If she really is pregnant, Carlos can't do shit to her until that baby is born. He'll be sitting ducks until she goes into labor."

"Right. However, once that baby is born, its life becomes thrust into serious trouble." Alexis leaned forward and placed her hands in front of her face, pressing her nose lightly against them. What could she do? She couldn't just march in and take Carly, the only way to do that was through war. She couldn't just free all the prostitutes without war, Dexter knew this as well. "If she's pregnant and she has a boy, Carlos will either kill him or turn him into one of his own kind…if she has a girl, that girl will grow up into prostitution."

"Unacceptable!" Alexis roared and slammed her hand on the table, rising up with fire burning in her eyes. Dexter and Emmanuel looked towards her with respect, they were awaiting her input on the whole thing. "Be it a niece, I will not allow it into Carlos's little prostitution ring." She sneered on his name and narrowed her gaze. "If I have a nephew, I will not allow that child into the gang. My brother surely would not allow this! I will honor my brother, I will also honor the mother of his child."

"Alex, how would you go about getting her away from Carlos? We can't just waltz in and take her from him." Dexter rested his chin on his hands and sighed, he was having a lot of difficulty just trying to figure out what he could do. They couldn't just kill Carlos, not now. "All we can do is wait for her to have that baby. We know if she's pregnant, that as Emmanuel said, Carlos won't be able to use her in prostitution until she has that baby. However, there's still the chance she's _not_ pregnant."

"Then…" Alexis slowly took her seat, the fire in her simmering only slightly before it flared up once more. "I think you know what we have to do…" Dexter turned his lips down and Emmanuel closed his eyes, exhaling silently. "We go to war." It was what everyone wanted to avoid, but everyone knew they couldn't. "If Carlos will not release his prostitutes and send them home, then he will lead our gang to death. Cash your chips in now boys, El Niño's time is coming." Dexter folded his arms over and leaned back in his seat, he was with her all the way on this. Emmanuel was not too confident. Dante let out a muffled shout, he was feeling the effects of the poison finally deteriorating his organs.

"I'd rather the North remain neutral in all this, to be honest." Alexis and Dexter glanced towards Emmanuel. He tapped his finger on the table and sighed. "There's no reason for us to join in this war anyway, besides, my goal is not quite the same as yours. The West and the South want to set up institutions, you guys want to become more of an agency type thing than a gang." Dexter rubbed his chin and nodded in understanding and agreement, however their minds were made up on their initial plans.

"Yes, we will split from El Niño's and become our own group designed to help educate Washington's minority youth in various logic classes, such as computer technology, engineering, and also heavy martial arts. The various forms…In order to do this, however, because you know Carlos won't allow the West and the South to separate as such, a war begins."

"Correct. Carlos will fight tooth and nail to turn El Niño's into a violent, obstructive gang. The only way to avoid this is to kill him, but there's no way anyone is going to get _close_ to him during a time of war. Surely not close enough to kill, that's why I'm opting to remain neutral."

"Then you may want to focus on the Lokotes and the NSS, because they are the ones who will wipe out the North, the East, and the central area if considerable care and actions are not taken. As for the West and the South, we've already begun the process of setting up various studios in various areas, and our men are already rising as trained instructors."

"In spirit then, you are wanting to turn El Niño's into something much different than what it was originally?"

"No," Alexis whispered softly as her face darkened. She was still thinking about Douglas, about Carly, and about the aspect of that girl having a child. The El Niño's were the ones that threatened the whole thing, and the ones who supported Carlos and what he had been doing, what he had done, and what he has yet to do, will die just as he would. "The El Niño's will fall to bloodshed. The South and the West will depart from them, no longer will we be the El Niño's. We will become a single body. Martial Arts teaches us to become one with our mind, body and soul, we will combine that and train the youths of today and tomorrow to become something great. Martial Arts brings focus, relaxation, determination…through that training they will build their bodies and through the training of their logical minds, they will become better prepared for life skills…They will study coding, technology, obviously martial arts, computer sciences, and many other things…"

"Yeah, that's great and all..."

"But before we can set all that up, Carlos and his regime must die. By taking Carly Shay, by setting up Emilio to not only kill my brother, my father, but Dexter as well, he has declared an act of war." She moved her eyes to Dante and saw him sweating frantically, his eyes were wide with fear. "The East Niño's should not mind, they are a war hungry group. If it is war that Carlos and the East wants, it is war he will get. Here, we have the first victim of the war."

The two men turned their eyes to Dante and watched as his eyes flicked painfully from each person. The poison had now spread to every end of his body. His heart was pounding hard, trying the best it could to pump blood to every end. However, it was being eaten up, corroding. Within five more minutes, his eyes fell to the back of his head and the tiny shakes of his body ceased. In an upright position, hands flat on the table, and eyes open, the assistant of the East was dead. Emmanuel felt of his pulse and reached back, giving Alexis and Dexter a firm, slow nod. Alexis closed her eyes and sipped her wine.

"Now…everyone has lost someone."

* * *

><p>Dexter's pissed, Alexis's pissed, if Douglas is alive, then Douglas's pissed, everyone's screwed XD We're all screwed...RUN! XD<p> 


	53. Untouchable Miracle

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 53 (Untouchable Miracle)<p>

He'd jumped the gun as he always did, his brother warned him of this. Carlos Rodriquez was sweating more than he'd ever thought he could. He gripped his bathroom sink and glared at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't _Dexter_ was the leader of the South, and screw the fact that the leader of the West was an angry sister of Douglas's. He hadn't thought of any of these things! Now Dante, his cousin, was dead because of his stupidity. He was beginning to feel the pressure now, and he hated it. Not only that, but he hadn't taken into consideration some other pressing factors. His eyes slowly hovered above the filthy toilet seat and he felt himself gag, almost wanting to barf himself. He'd cleaned the fucking toilet just an hour ago and already it was a smelly bowl of greenish brown fluid. He was certain Carly's nauseous nerves from having been so roughly abducted so soon after hearing about Douglas's death would have been calmed by now. It had gotten so bad that he ordered a doctor to come, and of course, it was the Madison family doctor. There was no other doctor that the gang would want because this doctor was the one who had been closest and most trustworthy.

He moved out of his bathroom, finally having had enough of that smell. Carly was sitting on his couch, her face was sullied and her eyes were puffy. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were beginning to lose its fresh look and smell. She looked up to him and lifted her hands up, not wanting him to touch her again. "Okay bitch, your doctor's going to be here soon…" Carly looked away from him and turned her eyes towards the door. She still didn't want to believe Douglas was gone, she refused it since he said he wasn't going to die. If he said he was coming back, then he was coming back, simple as that. The door opened and several of his guards entered with the doctor and a woman next to him. She bore a medical mask and had a long ponytail. Carlos folded his arms and sneered at Carly. "They're here."

"You're an asshole…"

"What was that?" He raised his hand to strike her and she flinched, holding her hands up defensively. As he brought it down, the woman grabbed his wrist and stared into his eyes. The woman was Alexis Madison. "What the hell?"

"Do not strike her." Alexis had instructed the doctor on who Carly was and he was more than willing to check her out. He had all of the medical equipment he needed. "Dr. Kelson, go set up in the bedroom. I'll prep Carly." The good doctor nodded his head and walked off. Carlos started to walk with him, but Alexis stopped him by placing her hand upon his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and eyed the guards and other gang members inside the house. She could kill him with the simple flick of her wrist. Right here, right now.

Carlos met her eyes and felt a deeply boiling fear inside of him, who was this woman? What was she determined to do? Alexis tensed her muscles and clenched her teeth. One small twitch, one small squeeze, that was all it took and she'd have him down on his knees. This was the man that killed her father, issued her brother's death, killed Jason, kidnapped and abused Carly, and god knows what else he did. He could see the hatred in her eyes and it scared him that a person who hated him so much would be so close to him. He didn't know why she hated him, though, but he knew he needed to stay away from her or else he might end up dying. His eyes drifted to her hand and his blood pulsed loudly. Alexis clenched her other hand tightly as his men watched them closely, figuring if they'd have to jump into action. "I need to be in there."

"You do not need to be in there, sir. Stay out of that room, the doctor will have his diagnosis for you when he leaves. Got it?" Fear slashed at his heart and he nodded rapidly, wanting to make sure he _lived_. She removed her hand from his shoulder and looked to Carly, her eyes displaying a sense of kindness. "Come on, Carly. We're not going to hurt you." Carly slowly stood up and swallowed. Her legs trembled and her arm shook as she reached out. Alexis took her hand and shot Carlos a threatening look. "The nerve of you to beat her." She led Carly towards the bedroom the doctor was setting up and heard Carlos mutter under his breath.

"She's just a prostitute…" Alexis froze and growled softly, she was resisting every urge and impulse to kill him. She was well aware that she could do it, and so was he. She knew he feared her, for she saw the sweat running down his neck when she glared at him. She gently tugged on Carly's arm, leading her into the room. She shut the door and locked it, there was no way in hell she was letting Carlos in here while Carly was busy. Carly slowly walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, looking up at Alexis as she removed her mask and smiled at her. She locked her heels together and closed her eyes, she felt better with Alexis there than without her, she felt safe. Her eyes drifted towards the doctor and she smiled just slightly. The man was skinny and had minimal wrinkles. He had long sideburns, a white moustache, blue eyes and a shiny bald head

"So…is he a medically licensed doctor?"

"Yes he is, sweetie." Alexis knew she needed to show Carly some display of kindness, so she not only showed her the same degree of kindness as she did the other prostitutes that Carlos had, but an extra amount of lovingness because of Douglas. She knelt down next to Carly and took her hand, looking softly into Carly's eyes. "This is Dr. Kelson, the Madison family doctor." Carly's eyes widened and started to glaze over, she just couldn't take hearing that name right now. "I'm sorry for the shape you're in, and I wish I could get you out of here somehow, but I can't. It kills me to see that…"

"Why would you be concerned?" Alexis wasn't too worried, Carly never actually met her before. Would telling her be too much of a problem? She was certain it would give Carly at least just a little hope, and any kind of hope was good hope. She breathed in and her lips curled upwards.

"It's a wonderful pleasure to meet my little brother's love." Carly gasped and her eyes widened remarkably, she'd heard Douglas talk on and off about his oldest sibling, but she never before met her. Her lower lip trembled and Alexis hugged her close while placing her hand upon her head and patting her. "You're going to be okay, Carly. I know it hurts. My boyfriend was supposed to find you and bring you to my uncle, but I told him to go save Bridget first because we learned of Carlos's plan to try and lure you in…"

"No…" Carly buried her face into Alexis's black shirt and sobbed. She hated remembering that night, it was horrible. "C-Carlos…Carlos made me walk the streets like a common prostitute. Is that what he wants?"

"It's what Doug was trying to avoid." Alexis rested her chin on Carly's head and closed her eyes tightly, exhaling softly. Carly shook her head helplessly and tightened her hold onto this woman. Immediately there was that connection formed. She was still scared, though. The doctor had been hooking up an ultrasound, along with some other machines. "Listen baby, there's a war going on within the gang, along with Carlos doing some stupid things, pissing off the wrong people out there, including your brother. El Niño's might last a _year_ before Derek and I get to our goal."

"Derek? The computer guy?"

"Yeah, he's the leader of the Southern Niño's." Alexis placed her hands on Carly's arms and looked into her eyes. She lifted up a small tissue and started wiping away her tears, smiling reassuringly. "We're trying to separate and build a college of martial arts, technology, and science. However, first, we're going to bring down that murderer. He killed my boyfriend, he my father, indirectly he may be the cause of my brothers' deaths, and now Doug…we're not even sure if he's missing or dead right now. They never found his body, hon." Carly's lips parted and her heart began to rise, was there a chance Douglas was alive? Who knew, really, but at least she could hope. That was, if she survived. "When this happens, we're sending _all_ of the prostitutes of El Niño's home. They will be freed."

"Okay…but…what is the Doctor here for? I know Carlos called him up, but other than my vomiting…"

"Carly. Dexter said one of his people was working at the drug store you purchased the pregnancy test from." Carly's blood rushed to her cheeks and she turned her eyes towards her belly. Was it safe? If she was pregnant, what would happen to her? What would happen to her baby?

"If I am…"

"If you are, that baby's going to keep you alive. Right now, as it is, unfortunately we can't take you. If Carlos wasn't keeping you heavily guarded, I could slip right in and take you with me, while probably killing him in the process. If you are indeed pregnant, Carly…he can't do _anything_ to you. Other than making sure you're well treated and taken care of, he can't put you out for prostitution, can't hit you up with drugs, can't _abuse_ you…I don't know if he'll try and abuse you or not, but if he does…he's in for a lot of hell." Carly's heart jumped and she was practically ready to throw herself down and let that doctor give her the ultrasound. In all honesty, she would love to be treated well in captivity. "If this war's still going on when that baby is born…Derek and I will think of something."

"W-Would you take the baby?"

"Hm?" Carly exhaled softly and laid back against the bed, allowing the doctor to approach her with the medical equipment. Alexis's eyes furrowed as she moved to Carly's right side and placed her hand into Carly's.

"I don't even know, I'm scared Carlos may try to kill the baby, if I _am_ pregnant. I'm scared he might kill _me_…I'm scared of so many things that, if I am pregnant…I have nobody else to rely on. Maybe, the baby's Aunt will take care of the baby." Alexis's lips curled upwards as she pushed Carly's bangs from her face.

"I would be honored to take the child in."

"If this 'war' isn't over when I give birth…I want you to be sure to take the baby until it is."

"I will. Your child will be safe with me. Now, are you sure the baby will be Douglas's child?" Carly slowly nodded and breathed out as the doctor put the cold jelly on her stomach.

"I just know it… I don't know _how_ I know it, I just do."

"Okay." Alexis and Carly looked to the ultrasound screen as the doctor began. Dr. Kelson smiled brightly and Carly's eyes widened in awe. Inside her belly, no bigger than a small kumquat, about an inch inside and with ten fingers and ten toes, was a fetus. She swore she saw it move. Alexis squeezed her hand gently and tears started to run down both of their eyes. "I can't believe I'm going to be an Aunt…"

"I-I'm pregnant…" Dr. Kelson eyed the ultrasound, studying it closely, he was almost certain he could pinpoint the exact date of conception.

"Your baby is about an inch long, appears that the most critical portion of his development is already complete…" Dr. Kelson moved to his notes and began writing while Carly continued to watch in awe and wonder at the miracle inside of her. "It would appear the baby is at the beginning of its fetal period."

"What does that mean, Dr. Kelson?"

"That means the tissues and the organs inside of your fetus will start to grow very fast. He'll be swallowing the fluid around him and start moving around mostly here. They'll begin to develop from here on until the rest of the pregnancy." The Doctor studied the ultrasound once more and began working on some of his other equipment. "There are already full fingers, full toes…you have been pregnant for a while Miss Shay."

"I-I never knew…"

"I see." Dr. Kelson rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes studiously through his charts. There was peach fuzz on the skin, no webbing of the hands or feet, the fetus was able to bend its limbs. The hands were flexed over the heart and the legs were long. The spine was visible and the head was bulging with the developing brain.

As he worked, Carly became lost watching her fetus move around inside of her. She and Alexis both seemed to have lost track of the time, something Alexis would have been embarrassed about if it were over anything else. It was not long before the doctor pulled them into a state of reality, he'd already done everything he needed to know about the current state of the fetus. He held his hands behind his back and smiled as Carly looked up at him. "Well Miss Shay, I am going to need to monitor your progress at least once or twice a week, so you _will_ be seeing Alexis and myself on a regular basis."

"Okay, that's good news."

"Yes. Now, I believe you are in your _tenth_ week. We have a lot of work to do, Carly." Carly's eyes widened and she started trying to count back ten weeks, she was certain she knew of that. Today was June 15th, so ten weeks ago would be somewhere near March or April. "Do you remember who you had sex with at or on the week of April 6th?" Her eyes grew larger and her eyes misted over as she nodded rapidly, smiling with joy.

"I-I only had sex one time that week because I wasn't feeling so well, I remember. It was the night of the fifth, Douglas and I went on a date to the bakery because I was starting to feel a little better, my strength was up…after that, we went back to his place, we kissed, and well…" She blushed lightly and looked up to Alexis, hoping she wasn't disturbing her at all. The woman didn't seem the least bit disturbed. She chuckled nervously and smiled back at the doctor.

"So you did not have sex with anyone else either seventy two hours before or seventy two hours _after_ that date?"

"Right, I remember, was actually feeling pretty sick from the twenty third of March to the twentieth of April, almost a whole month. The fifth was the _only_ time I had sex during that period of time, and it was _only_ with Douglas. In fact, that was around the time that I stopped having sex with anyone _but_ him, so unless my conception date is before then…"

"Then it's pretty clear cut who the father is. Later in your pregnancy, we should do a paternity test just in case. I can't determine the gender of your baby for a few more weeks. Now, when we do that paternity test, we _can_ test with Alexis, as she would be Mr. Madison's sister." Carly smiled and squeezed Alexis's hand gently, she was eternally grateful for the news.

As time went on, Dr. Kelson lectured Carly about the pregnancy, what she would have to do, what she would have to avoid, he was basically the know it all doctor when it came to these kinds of things. He also explained that Carlos would have _no_ legal jurisdiction or any whatsoever on the fate of the baby, that meant, if it was the _mother's_ wish that the baby go with its aunt upon birth for a period of time, then Dr. Kelson and Carly would simply hand the child to Alexis and she would be free to take the baby home with her until Carly was safe.

When they left the room, once Dr. Kelson was all packed up, Carlos was there waiting with several of his thugs. He had his arms crossed and frowned when he heard the doctor say he'd be back next week. "So, what's the deal? Why are you throwing up all over the place?" Carly winced and Alexis stepped in front of her, glaring fire into Carlos. The man felt a shiver run down his spine and he quickly averted his eyes.

"She's untouchable to you, Rodriquez. She is _pregnant_." Carlos's eyes widened considerably and he felt the wind rush out of him as he stumbled backwards. "And before you get any fucked up ideas in your head, it is _Douglas's_ child, not yours." His blood ran cold and he stared at Carly with worry and concern. "Oh, and Carlos? If you do anything to her, and I mean _anything_ to put risk to her or her child, you will live to regret it. Believe me, you don't want to mess with that."

"Just what I need, a civil war within my own gang…a war with another gang, the legal system barreling down on me…and now a freakish medical assistant threatening my life. Just be careful who you're talking to, lady." Alexis raised her eyebrow while his men started whispering amongst themselves. Everyone was wondering if he was truly that stupid? Alexis stepped next to him and glared furiously from the corners of her eyes.

"Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to ignore that statement for now and give you a rain check. Just watch yourself Carlos, or else the promise Douglas gave you when he neutered your fucking ass will come to fruition by _my _hands. I'd hate to see what he'd do to you if he knew right now that you had Carly…"

She'd already said her farewells until next week to Carly, so she just simply began walking, stopping only to scare a gang member on the side by performing a martial arts move and stopping her hand directly in front of her face. She straightened herself and looked towards Carlos, narrowing her eyes venomously. He'd not seen the hint she'd given as to her identity, but the gang member she just frightened had apparently pissed himself and run off towards the bathroom. "Goodbye Carlos." Carlos clicked his tongue and slowly looked to Carly as Alexis left the house. He didn't even want to see her right now, he needed to figure out what the _hell_ he was going to do. She'd just been declared untouchable and he wasn't about to do anything to jostle her since he'd talked to his brother within the last hour and he revealed that Douglas's sister was that ferocious leader of the West side. He wasn't about to put his life in jeopardy by doing anything to harm Douglas's baby if that woman was anywhere around. He just had to wait out this war and build up his men so that they could crush the fearsome leader of the West and the mysterious leader of the South.

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><p>So Carlos can't harm Carly, but she's too guarded for Alexis to get out of there, that's rough indeed.<p> 


	54. Into Battle

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 54 (Into Battle)<p>

August 20th, Sam was flying into Iran with several other recruits just out of Basic. She had a military laptop on her lap and was talking to Valerie and Jonah via webcam, they were with Sam's family. She was dressed in full military uniform and eager to get started. "I'm going to get to see Derek in a few hours, you guys…" They were going on and on about when she was going to get to see him and what she was going to do. She couldn't really make out with him when she saw him, but she was at least going to acknowledge him. After all, they were boyfriend and girlfriend now. It amazed her how much he cared about her despite her past, that was all she ever wanted after that lifestyle was someone who wouldn't care about that life. She didn't have to worry about being constantly reminded about it. Valerie smiled at her best friend and tapped her cheek.

"Sammy, I guess you won't be getting any of my brownies for a while. Maybe if there's a way to send a batch overseas, then perhaps…"

"I bet there is!" Sam grinned hopefully and Valerie laughed. Sam looked to her side and felt an empty space. She moved her eyes back to the screen and saw Choco resting in Melanie's lap. "Hey Mel, look after Choco for me." Melanie perked up and smirked as she lifted Choco the bunny up.

"Always. I could opt to tease you now if I wanted, but I'm going to be nice to you there, Sis." Sam narrowed her eyes and Melanie laughed. "Anyway, we're all proud of you, Sammy. You're doing great. Say hi to Derek and Joshua for us!" Sam nodded and lifted her head up towards the window, the ocean below had been beautiful. "You'll be sure to stay in touch, won't you?"

"Of course I will, I have a lot of goals in mind when I get back home, you know." One thing she wanted to do was try to find Carly. Maybe, just maybe, if she found Carly she could get her out of that lifestyle she'd been living in. Perhaps, just perhaps, she could be to Carly, what Valerie had been for her, a savior. "Besides, I don't think this Iranian war is going to last much longer. It's been said that this war is beginning to exhaust their economy and if they don't cave in soon enough it's going to be like that gang war that you guys say has been going on…"

"Yeah that's getting old," David grumbled with great irritation. He'd had to make several arrests, but oddly most of them had been for the North and East Niño's or the NSS. "I think they made peace with the NSS, but the Little Valley Lokotes are still going after the Niño's. Did I mention Freddie's been doing some apprenticeship work with me? An incentive program."

"I figured." Freddie grinned proudly as David pat him on the shoulder. Freddie had really wanted to join when he knew what the El Niño's had cost everyone. He wanted to have a hand at trying to bring them down. Spencer had been doing his best, but he'd still been pretty stressed lately, his son was going to be born in just one or two months! "So Dad, is it true you're getting promoted to a Captain?"

"Actually they're skipping me over Captain due to some of my actions in the last few weeks."

"So you're getting promoted to an Assistant Chief?" David grinned brightly and Sam let out a loud gasp. Now _this_ was news! Not only was _that_ fantastic news, Spencer was on his way to becoming a powerful lawyer. He'd really stirred up the media, the police, the government, everyone was right on target with this gang issue. He earned the right to be pissed at them, considering Colonel Shay _didn't_ die by the Iranians, he died by an assassin who came over from the El Niño's gang. "Hey Dad, Mom, Mel, everyone…I hope I make everyone proud of me. I mean really proud. I just want you to know that I'm doing so much to make you all proud. It means so much to me that you are…I don't know where I'd be without my family."

Pam placed her hand to her heart and gazed lovingly at her daughter. "We know baby. You're becoming a model woman. Do your best over there and stay safe! I want you to remember, I won't be there to remind you to change your u-" Sam quickly hit the mute button and looked to her fellow soldiers around her, chuckling nervously. She waited till her mom stopped talking and smiled.

"Uh, whoops, I think we just went through some sort of…uh, I don't know…I know we just cut out for a minute and I heard nothing of that last sentence. Sorry mom, I love you!" Pam gave her a suspicious look while Valerie and Melanie snickered. Jonah slowly shook his head and Freddie closed his eyes, thinking of his own mother. Moms, they really did worry when their kids weren't around. Go figure.

"Okay Sam, whatever you say. We love you too baby!" Sam looked up as an officer stated they were about to land on ground and they needed to close whatever electronics they had open. Sam quickly wished said her goodbyes to her parents and closed down the laptop. She looked up at the stern officer and listened to what he had to say.

"When we arrive, you will be grouped up and told who your commanding officer will be. You will find your commanding officer on the ground of the airport and they will transport you to the base you will be staying on. You are expected to follow any orders given to you. Remember men and women, this is _war_, not playtime in a new world."

Sam nodded her head slowly as the plane started to come to a landing. She knew who her commanding officer was, she had been told that by one of the officers at the academy. Her commanding officer was Colonel Morgan. This was of great pleasure to her, as she knew him well and was really looking forward to seeing the man again. He might not be the same as he was then, after what he had gone through. It wasn't easy to see your best friend murdered by a professional assassin. Those things stayed with a guy.

As she started to leave the flight in a single file line, she met an officer at the bottom who quickly handed her all of her bags. "Airman Samantha Puckett, your commanding officer is Colonel Morgan. He is waiting for you straight that way." The man pointed towards the airport doors where Colonel Morgan was standing with his chest puffed out and his hands behind his back. He had a stern look on his face and had his legs spread out.

Sam's eyes grew wide and her mouth opened in a wide smile as she saw the people with him. Standing on either side of him in a similar pose was Lieutenant Joshua Beckett and Senior Airman Derek Beckett. On the sides of them were two Majors in the same pose.

Several other recruits were putting their packs on their backs, so Sam followed suit and walked towards her commanding officer with her head held high and her back straight. Colonel Morgan, Josh, and Derek all gave her a small smile when they spotted her. She stepped in front of them and saluted them. "Airman Samantha Puckett reporting for duty, Sir!"

"Received. You have my permission to hug Senior Airman Beckett. He's been going on and on about when you'd arrive. Greet him properly, ma'am." Derek's face grew red as a smile grew upon her face. She walked over to him and saluted him, he saluted her in return. Next, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, he followed quickly. Colonel Morgan smiled at the sight and watched recruits leave from the airplane.

"I missed you." He lowered his voice to a whisper and lightly kissed her forehead. "You made it through Basic, I'm proud."

"Thank you, it was well earned. I was hoping to see you again, how'd you even know I'd be with you guys?"

"Wasn't hard to figure out. Colonel Morgan did list the new recruits we'd be having."

"Oh."

"Come on, get in position. We'll be heading back to base any minute now." Sam nodded and mimicked the others there. It wasn't long until a lot of new recruits were there. It wasn't long, either, before they were all on the military base and resting up. Sam and Derek went up to talk with Colonel Morgan, as she wanted to know how he had been since the last time she saw him, which had actually been years ago. They found him in his office, where he was doing some paperwork. He looked up at the two and leaned back, clapping his hands slightly and smiling at them.

"My Sam, it's been a long time since I've seen you. Tell me, how have you been doing?"

"I've been okay. There's a _lot_ that's been going on, though. I know you probably know all about all that stuff." He lifted his hand up to stop her there, as it was not necessary to know all that information. He smiled once more and leaned forward.

"What's past is past, Sam. You're working on your new life now."

"Yes sir. Can I say, I'm terribly sorry about what happened to Colonel Shay, he was a very good man."

"Yes he was…Man that was a hard day…" Sam frowned as Colonel Morgan leaned forward and shook his head. He always wanted to redo that day, to just change the course of events. "That monster assassin…it was that boy who came to save him." Sam's eyebrows rose curiously as he wiped the sweat off his brow. He wasn't enjoying the memory. Rather, it was slowly killing him. "What did that man say was the name of the guy? Emilio Gonzalez?"

"Whoa…" That was a flashback for her. The last she'd seen Douglas or heard anything about Carly was when she was sitting there with Dexter and reading that email. Emilio Gonzalez had been the man hired by Carlos. "Oh no…"

"What is it, Samantha?"

"I know who placed that hit on Colonel Shay. It was a man by the name of Carlos Rodriquez, head of the El Niño's gang in Washington." Colonel Morgan pressed his fingertips together and huffed. He'd give _anything_ to kill that man. "You said someone came to save Mr. Shay?"

"Yeah."

"Oh no…" She smacked her forehead and quickly turned to Derek. Her eyes widened mournfully and his lips fell downward. He knew what she was thinking and he really hoped she was wrong. "Douglas was over here…" What if Douglas was dead? What if Carly was taken by El Niño's? Carly would be forced into prostitution, that life would surely become her life! It was a horrible thought as any. Maybe they could save her, though. Who knew, really? With Derek's father, maybe Colonel Morgan, and her own father, she could surely band the military and law enforcement together. Her hands slowly tightened as she did the math in her head. They could potentially destroy the _entire_ El Niño's gang in one foul swoop. "If she's still out there somewhere, we will find her…"

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><p>Chapter End. XD<p> 


	55. The Key Hostage

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 55 (The Key Hostage)<p>

February 12th came around and the Iranian war was now coming to a close. Their government was going to sign a peace treaty, but Sam had one final mission left. Now an Airman First Class, and her boyfriend who was now a Staff Sergeant, they were two of the toughest Enlisted soldiers there. They were also very respectable soldiers and they did as they were told. For Sam, it had been almost a year since she left pornography behind. She still felt the ramifications, though not nearly as much as she used to. On occasions she had nightmares in regards to the past, but they weren't frequent enough or nearly bad enough to actually cause her any major damage.

She made her way into Colonel Morgan's office and found Derek standing next to the Colonel's desk and the kind Colonel standing behind his desk with his fingertips on the surface. She saluted him and he saluted her in return. Derek stepped next to her as both Colonel and Sam lowered their arms. "This will be your final mission before this war is over. There are many battles that are ending, and this will be one of those…We have a hostage situation."

Colonel Morgan had a guilty look in his eyes and Sam was a bit concerned as to what he was feeling bad about. Maybe the hostage had been a friend of his, maybe it had been someone that he felt responsible for. "The Iranians had been using threats of a hostage for the last eight months. They've had pictures of this hostage with a bag tied over his head, and now…they are saying they will decapitate him and not hand the hostage over."

"With all respect sir, if you've known about this hostage for eight months, why have you not done anything to retrieve him?" The question struck him hard, he knew it was coming, and he couldn't hide the truth from her. He'd let Steven's death get the better of him for several months and by the time he'd gotten some sense kicked into him, he had forgotten about the hostage.

"I could have sent my men in to retrieve this hostage long ago, but I let my emotions get the better of me. I…forgot about the hostage. It's a crucial error on my part, and I should be the one going in to get him out right now, but I have an important meeting to attend with the other Colonels. That is why I am sending you two in. It's up to you to retrieve the hostage by six o'clock tonight. If you fail, it will be too late, and he will die…" Sam and Derek saluted Colonel Morgan and a strong, determined look shot through their eyes.

"We will not fail you, sir."

"Good." Colonel Morgan spread a map out on his desk and the two moved close to it. He pointed to a red dot and breathed out. "This is our base. About three miles from us is the Iranian base…" He moved his finger to a brown dot lower down on the map and pressed his lips together. "This base is a small one, but yet there are more than enough hostiles to go around. Somewhere in one of the buildings they're hiding their hostage. It could be one of their compounds, it could be their armory, it could even be their main meeting room…or hell, the basement of the two story house located on that base. The reason I am only sending you two in is because, well, I'm sending you in early and debriefing you first. You are to arrive there and hide out somewhere. I am sending out a few of my other men after you and they will be enough to cause an uproar, leading the attention to them. You must infiltrate and search each building until you find the hostage. Then, you must remove the hostage. I am not certain if there are other hostages down there, but if there are, get them out as well. Your mission is simple. Infiltrate, lay low, scan the buildings, locate the key hostage, and remove him from the Iranian camp. Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then move out! On the double!"

The two did not hesitate to rush out and prepare for their mission. This was a rescue mission on foot, and it could really only be treated as such. Within time, they were in the jeep and driving towards the base. Derek was driving while Sam was scanning a map of the Iranian camp. "Is there a way around the base there, Sam?"

"Yeah, along the outer wall there's an opening in the back. Possibly caused by a grenade or some sort of weapon. That is what Colonel Morgan has denoted for us. No one guards the hole, if we slip through there unseen, then we can easily find a location to lay low until the other troops have arrived."

"Sounds like a plan." The two drove in silence and started heading towards the back wall. They grabbed their guns and started making their way to the hole, which was towards the corner. Derek positioned himself on the left side closest to the edge of the perimeter. He poked his head around the edge and nodded to Sam, it was clear that way. Sam nodded and looked into the hole, it was clear. The two made their way carefully through, Derek went in first and took Sam's hand, helping her in. They surveyed their surroundings and ran towards a small, round tower and pressed their backs against it. Sam looked up the tower and spotted an Iranian sleeping. She pointed up and Derek took a look.

He slowly made his way up the tower and put the Iranian in a sleeper hold. He crouched and looked over the top, there were several Iranians, at least ten or twelve, walking around outside. He put his hand to his forehead and eyed the distance, he thought he saw something headed towards the base.

He grabbed his binoculars and spotted three jeeps with at least ten soldiers in each. They were with them. He descended the tower and stepped next to Sam. She tapped the wall in Morse code, asking what he saw, if anything. He tapped in response that there were at least thirty men on their way to the camp. She smirked and let him know that she had studied the map a bit more.

The tower they were at was on the far, back left corner of the entire base, which really was not that big. In the center of the base was the two story house where the commanders stayed. In the right corner close to the entrance was a small hut shaped building that was used for hiding out. In front of them was the armory. Next to the Armory, close to the front of the wall, was the barracks. On the other side of the mansion was the rec area, or the mess hall.

The first buildings they opted to search would be the armory and the Barracks, but until then they decided it would be best to wait inside the tower. They placed their backs against the walls and peered out the doorway as Iranians started running towards the front gate. Gunfire started up, and that was their signal. Derek ran into the armory and Sam made her way into the Barracks.

When she entered the barracks, she saw it was simply a long room of beds, nothing more. Towards the end of the long building was a door. She crouched next to a bed and started advancing towards the door, getting up and running to the next bed to crouch behind. She kept her eyes narrow and eventually made her way to the door, which she promptly kicked open.

She extended her weapon and entered the area, scanning it with a frown. It was only the bathrooms, and each stall was empty. She grabbed her radio and pressed down on the button. "Barracks clear, how is the armory? Over." After a minute or two, Derek paged in.

"Armory's completely emptied out, over." Sam frowned as she stepped next to a bed and peered from the window and towards the two story house. She held her hands behind her back and watched carefully. The upper window revealed two men pushing someone around with them, but there were other hostages in there as well. The main hostage, however, the one Colonel Morgan described, was the one with the sack over his head. The two men were taking him out of the house, they were about to leave with him!

"Shit!" She grabbed her radio and spoke into it. "Derek, there are three hostages in the mansion. I need you to go retrieve them. Two men are taking the key hostage out of the house, I'm going to tail them."

"Be careful, Sam."

"Got it." She put her hand onto the window sill and flipped outside, landing neatly on her feet and watching as the two men took the hostage from the back door. She spotted Derek on the wall of the house, his back pressed firmly against it. Fortunately all the Iranians were currently distracted by the other soldiers.

Sam made her way through the hole towards her jeep, keeping an eye on the men. They got into a yellowish jeep and drove out of the compound, speeding down the dirt roads. With that, Sam rushed out after them. She narrowed her eyes on the target and took a quick glance at the hostage. He had a muscle shirt and dark blue jeans. His slightly toned, muscular arms were behind his back and his wrists were tied together with rope. He had an extremely tanned complexion and there was dark hair coming from the bottom of the bag, trailing just onto his shoulders. Needless to say, it didn't look like it would be a reporter, that was for sure.

The Iranian driving looked back and exclaimed, the second Iranian shouted profanities and aimed a pistol towards Sam. Sam jerked the car to the right as the Iranian fired a shot at her. She bared her teeth and tried to speed up, but high speed chases were not entirely easy in these jeeps. The hostage began shaking, as though he were having trouble breathing. Sam roared angrily and let out a dangerous shout. "He's suffocating! Take the fucking bag off his head!" The hostage stopped moving and turned his head back, letting out a muffled shout. "Pull the fuck over! Do _not_ make me force your car to a stop!" The hostage let out another shout as Sam aimed her pistol carefully. She had to time this just right, or else she'd risk killing the hostage.

She narrowed her eyes and straightened herself with the car, aiming carefully and taking into consideration every environmental change there was. The Iranian in front of the hostage gave her a confused look and watched as she smirked at him and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore from her gun, tore through the bulky bag on the hostage, avoiding his head completely, and penetrating the hostile in the forehead. The hostage let out a profane shout as the Iranian fell out of the jeep. The driver cried out as Sam quickly shifted her gun towards one of the jeep's back tires. "If you don't stop now…" She cocked the gun back and straightened her head. "Then I _will_ force you over."

The hostage started moving his hands back until he found the knife left over from the prior Iranian. He grunted and flipped it over, trying to cut through the ropes. The Iranian swerved and the hostage nearly cut his hand open with the knife. He grit his teeth and Sam quickly pulled the trigger.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." The bullet tore through the right side tires, causing the Iranian to scream as his car swerved and flipped over, sending both the Iranian and the hostage flying from the car. Sam brought her car to a halt and quickly leapt out. She lifted her radio up and pressed the button. "Derek, I've shot down the car. The Iranian just went flying…Over." Derek responded back, he was breathing heavily and his voice was sharp.

"Good job. All is well on my end, I ran into some trouble with the Iranians, but I've got the three remaining hostages free. Make sure the key hostage is safe and return to base. I will meet you there. Over and out."

Sam turned around in time to be tackled by the Iranian. She screamed out as his hands gripped her throat. His teeth were bared and bloody, his arms and hands were soaked with blood. Sam gagged and grasped his wrists as he lifted her head up and slammed it into the ground multiple times. She grit her teeth together and thrashed her legs out, struggling to get up.

She opened her eyes widened and gasped for air. That's when she saw him, the hostage slowly creeping up behind the Iranian with the bag over his head. The bag had an enormous tear and it revealed eyes nearly covered with bushy eyebrows. Those eyebrows narrowed as the hostage lifted the knife into the air and stabbed the Iranian in the back of the throat, piercing out the other side. Sam gasped as the hostile fell to the ground, blood spurting every which way. She grabbed her neck and slowly rose to her feet, looking at the hostage carefully.

"You save their life and how do they repay you? Hold you hostage for eight fucking months and decide to waste you when they've lost the war…" Sam's eyes widened and her body froze. That voice? How could it be? No, she was imagining things. He was _dead_. The man grabbed the sack on his head and started to remove it. "Now to get this fucking thing off my head." Once it was off, she could see he had a large, bushy beard and moustache that hadn't been trimmed at all since he'd been there, he had thick eyebrows, and long silky hair going over his shoulders. He stared at Sam and crossed his arms. "What? The way you look, you'd think you just saw a ghost. Damn, I'm surprised to be seeing you, actually…out here…in this hell hole." The man turned his eyes to the dead Iranian and growled, kicking him sharply in the side. "It's what you get, you bastard! I saved your fucking life from Emilio, you nursed me to health, and for what? To try and hold _my country_ at bay? I don't _think so!_"

"D-D-Douglas?" There was no mistaking him. That voice, that demeanor, even his appearance with all that hair, there was absolutely _no_ mistaking that it was him. Douglas slowly moved his eyes to Sam and smirked subtly.

"You know, shave the beard just to the skin and I think I'd look good with one. You think Carly would like it?"

"Carly…" Sam moved her eyes down and started shaking slightly. Douglas exhaled sharply and looked up into the sky.

"Right. Carlos. We have some work to do…but first, I need to shave and get cleaned up."

"Yeah, let's…let's get moving…" She carefully moved to the jeep, getting in the driver's side while Douglas entered the passenger's side. She was still processing what had just happened. She'd just saved Douglas, granted he saved her just now as well, but either way, she never perceived he'd be that hostage. She started up the jeep and began heading towards the base as Douglas scratched his beard. He chuckled slightly and rubbed his beard some more.

"Yeah, rugged, I think I'll keep the beard to a low or medium trim. Any ideas how it looks over there with the Niño's?"

"It's war, Douglas…"

"I thought so. Dexter and Alexis are probably holding down the forts pretty well. I assume Carlos has Carly. Anyway, Carlos…I've got an _old debt_ to settle with him." Sam raised her eyebrow as Douglas started moving his right arm in a circular motion, working out the kinks in it. He'd at least been able to do some lifting and work to keep up his body strength and tone, he would hate to have all that hard work go to waste.

"Dexter? Is he one of the leaders?"

"Yes, and so is my sister, Alexis. Those two are good. I want El Niño's _destroyed_, but those two can remain."

"Are they the West and the South? I hear they're trying to build some college of martial arts and science technologies." Douglas slowly nodded his head and leaned back in his seat. Damn it felt good to be free and relaxed for once! "Spencer's been madly at war with them. I'm going to have dad, along with Derek's dad, a general, help take out the El Niño's and wipe them out entirely. I'll leave Dexter and your sister alone."

"Good. We have much to discuss, but first matters first…"

Within a few meager hours, Douglas had taken a shower, been treated by the medical staff, had his hair cut into a buzz and his beard trimmed to a low trim. His clothes had been cleaned and he was already working out in the base's gym. In the end, he was outside staring down the sunset with a bright gleam in his eyes. "I'm back baby, and Carlos Rodriquez…I'm gunning for _you_."

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><p>NOW we can celebrate :P XD. Douglas is alive and ready to kick some ass. El Nino's is going down, big time! Sam makes a pretty damn good soldier too.<p> 


	56. Brother and Sister Reunited

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 56 (Brother and Sister Reunited)<p>

Dexter stepped out of the bedroom and stretched his back, neither he nor Alexis got much sleep the night before. The baby kept them up all night, but eventually Alexis managed to calm it down to a good rest. Their college had already been built and they were no longer affiliated with El Niño's. However, they were still fighting to end this war. The prostitutes had been returned to the Little Valley Lokotes a month ago, so the outside gangs were no longer warring against them, but the numbers of El Niño's had greatly dwindled. Despite the odds, the West and the South had continued to thrive since separation. This meant the North and the East were near extinction. The El Niño's was almost no more. Unless Carlos disbanded El Niño's forever, or he died, then there was no future left.

Of course there still remained the law of prostitutes. Dexter narrowed his eyes and stepped outside. He saw a group of West Niño's fighting a group of East Niño's near the house. It was almost a constant, they kept trying to get the child back from Alexis. This was not about to happen. They couldn't get Carly unless Carlos died, they sure as hell weren't paying him for her, but now the coward had his entire base heavily guarded and covered. Nobody was getting in, or out, for that matter.

It wasn't a large group of fighters on the ground, three Martial Arts, and six West Niño's. The fighters were wounded, but they still had a warrior pride. They weren't going down until there was nothing left to live for. That was the strength that kept them going. Dexter's eyes flicked to the right as he felt Alexis's bump into him. He looked at her and saw she was holding baby Jessica. He smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow as he spotted a jet black El Camino in the distance, it was flashing down the street at full speed. "Who the hell's that?" Alexis shrugged and returned to the couch, exhaling softly. This baby was missing her mother, but it had been for the best when it was born that she stay with her Aunt and Uncle. "I hope they don't stop near that small fight, it'll distract the people trying to hold off the gang."

Down below, Douglas and Sam had parked alongside the opposite curb, he was wearing a black cowboy hat and had a very sharp expression on his face. "I look like the Hispanic Chuck Norris…" Sam smirked as Douglas stepped out of his car. He leaned into the doorway and pointed to her. "You stay here. Come out only when I've broken this fight apart. Time to send a message to the Niño's that I am _back_ for good. Cue your fuckin' war music now. Rise of the Valkries or whatever, I'm going in."

The gang members and the Martial Arts Fighters froze when they saw him, a ghost of their far distant past. Douglas was slowly advancing upon them, a wide smirk on his face and his eyes narrowed into deadly slits. The younger brother of the fierce, fiery Alexis was _alive_ and with a vengeance. Did this make him deadlier than his sister? They were about to find out. The Martial Arts fighters stepped to the side, knowing they'd better stay out of this man's way or risk being caught up in the deadly fire.

"Kill him!" Shouted the Niño with the yellow bandana. Douglas dubbed this man 'banana head' and was well prepared for the strike. The man charged towards his with the knife and Douglas roared.

"There are many ways to kill a man with your bare hands. I'm about to show you one way in the spirit of the Sambo." Douglas grabbed the man's knife hand and twisted it over his head, causing the man to fall on his back. Douglas quickly moved onto him, slamming his right and left knee into the man's arm. The Niño let out a loud cry and dropped his knife on the ground, his hand was twitching all over the place as he tried to break free. Douglas then slammed his hand into the man's face, snapping his head down.

Douglas rose to his feet as the second gang member came up to him, skinny as hell. He clenched his fists up as the gang member started punching towards him. "Muay Thai. Hailing from Thailand." The gang member raised his eyebrow as Douglas let out a dangerous shout and kicked his leg straight into the air and swept hard into the man's head, cracking his skull and snapping his cervix. The man was down and out.

The third man came charging at him, but Douglas grabbed his wrist with one hand and grabbed the other man's side with his other, slamming him down hard on the ground. He straddled the man's waist and placed his arms onto the man's head, then snapped it in a quick leftwards motion.

The fourth came charging at him and Douglas cracked his neck to the side. "Next up is the fourth move, the Silat, which hails from Malaysia." The martial arts men were beginning to take notes mentally, memorizing each technique he was using. Douglas slammed his fist hard into the man's abdomen, causing him to lurch forward. He then grabbed the man's arm, using it as leverage, and slammed him into the ground at twenty miles per hour, then he leap over the man and delivered a killing blow into the repeat spot.

"I'd show you Eskrima from the Philippines, but I don't have the time nor the patience. The fifth gangster charged towards him and Douglas placed his hand on his own wrist and flexed his arm in, pointing his elbow out. "The next, I will show you. Krav Maga, one deadly ass martial arts that hailed from Israel." The gang member stopped just before reaching him and started to turn, but before he could, he got a face full of elbow, sending his body upwards just a bit. Next, Douglas kicked him hard in the mid-section, sending the man flying against the house and shattering his spine, along with the back of his cranium. Douglas's eyes bore onto the final gang member, who was sweating and starting to back up. "You next? Come on man, I got a guy I have to see and a woman I need to get back, so you're either going to come here and accept your fate or you're going to run off like the little scared sack of shit that you are. If I were you, I'd run. If five people couldn't take down one Chuck Norris wannabe, and yes, that is _all_ I was able to watch in my eight months of captivity, so don't even open your fucking mouth. For an Iranian who hates America so badly, the guy was sure obsessed with Chuck Norris. How much more American can you _get_ than _Chuck Norris_?"

The gang member looked uncomfortably to his right as Douglas motioned for him to move towards him or away. Either way, cracking somebody's spinal cord in two was in his eyes for the future. "There are hundreds of ways to kill a man, and I know every one of them. I'm pretty sure Chuck Norris is above me on skill rating, but hey, you want to try that out? Eh?"

With a loud scream, the gang member charged down the street, escaping what would likely have been his fate. Douglas straightened himself and shrugged, the wolves of the street would get him eventually. He turned his eyes to his car and motioned for Sam to come on out. She was staring with wide eyes at him, she didn't know he had moves like that. Thinking fast, she scurried out of the car and over to him. "I need to upgrade my car to an Infiniti, Ferrari, or something like that, glad to have it cleaned out after all this time. Now, let's get inside, I'm sure Alexis is terribly distraught over her little brother's absence." He stopped himself short and exhaled. "Then again…she probably didn't change much."

"D-Douglas Sir!" One of martial arts fighters hurried over to him and scanned him, as if to figure out what the hell just happened. Douglas smiled at the man and lifted his hand, waving slightly.

"Update? What have I been missing?" The door to the large house opened and Douglas spotted Dexter leaning against the doorframe with a smirk upon his face. He'd been watching from the upstairs window and had been completely startled by his friend's appearance. He actually had started thinking Douglas was _dead_ all this time. "Hey! Dex, how's it going bro?" The two men shared a high five and pulled each other into a man hug. "Feels good to be back on American soil again, but I'm guessing I'll have to clear up a lot, huh?"

"Yeah…" Dexter's face darkened a bit and he led Douglas and Sam inside the house. "Jason M. Ski was killed eight months ago trying to save Carly's friend from being used as bait, it didn't work." Douglas raised his eyebrows sharply and tensed his muscles up. He could hear very soft footfalls upstairs, and he knew his sister was up and about. He traced her footsteps while listening to Douglas. "Carlos made his first mistake, sending Emilio Gonzalez after me. Next, the civil war broke out, I'm sure you know about that…but Carlos has Carly. He's had her for eight months and we've been unable to get her out of there." Douglas clenched his fists and growled softly, he wanted to know just _why_ they couldn't get her out.

"So she's been stuck in there and abused for all this time?"

"Not quite, little brother…" His head snapped to the stairs and he saw his sister gradually descending the steps. As he watched, he saw her holding a small, one month old baby in her hands. "For several months, he has been unable to do _anything_ to her. However he has kept her heavily guarded, that way no one's been able to go in. The other prostitutes he's had are guarded too, but not as heavily as Carly has been. The gang is almost completely wiped out, though…it wouldn't take much."

"Right. Sam's father, as well as her boyfriend's father is going to have the law enforcement and military take out the remaining leaders, under one condition. Carlos Rodriquez is _mine_."

"You and me both, Douglas…He has a debt that he must pay to me, and he will pay it with blood." She made her way to him and he looked to the baby with a smile, he felt something rising inside of him, was it pride? She handed him the baby and he took her in his arms, gazing into her eyes.

"This baby…"

"Is your daughter, Douglas…I gave my DNA for a paternity test, she is your daughter. Jessica." His heart lifted and Sam's mouth fell open. Carly had been pregnant? The baby cooed and took his finger in hers. "By maternal choice, the baby was handed over to me. She was born on January 5th. Carlos wasn't happy to hand her over, but he had no choice." Douglas slowly nodded as his eyes begun to fill with tears. He was a father. Now, he needed to retrieve the mother of his child. He would not fail. He looked up to Alexis, who was struggling not to cry. She was so happy to see him _alive_. He moved his eyes to her finger and lifted his eyebrows up, she was wearing a wedding ring! When did she get married?

"You're married, Sis?"

"Yes, I've been married for three months now." He raised his eyebrow and glanced over to Dexter. Dexter grinned and placed his arm around Alexis's shoulders. He clicked his tongue and looked away in surprise.

"Okay, so you've definitely softened up since I've been gone." Alexis narrowed her eyes dangerously and Dexter slowly took his niece into his arms. "What?" Alexis quickly took his arm with her hands and roared as she flipped him in an arc overhead. Sam cupped her hands over her mouth as Douglas screamed and came crashing into the ground. He began to laugh and Alexis smiled brightly as her brother stood up and dusted his shoulders off. "Damn, you haven't changed a bit, Alex."

"Can't say you have either…Come here, brother." She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and closed her eyes. He hugged her back and smiled happily. Dexter tilted his head as he watched a silent tear leave her right eye. It was astonishing because she almost _never_ cried. Even when Jason died, she didn't cry. Even when someone crashed their car into Dexter's car back in December and he spent a week in the ER, their first Christmas as a couple, she never cried. She did cry, however, when it came to her entire family basically being dead. So in a sense, this wasn't surprising to Dexter, to see her cry over Douglas's return. "I just…can't believe you're really okay…"

"Well that depends on if you can come out of being held hostage for eight months _okay_. What can I say, though? They saved my life after I saved theirs." Sam raised her eyebrow and Alexis looked to him curiously. "When Emilio attacked, we were in the Iranian camp, he was killing them…brutally…Then Colonel Shay made himself aware, so I ran out to attack him. Got the beating of my life, he killed the Colonel…I attacked him again, got beaten again, and he left the camp thinking that I was dead. The Iranians there nursed me back to life, but then they started using me as a hostage. Really kind of pissed me off there, I was hoping to be let go." It was a major setback, and now many people paid because he couldn't get back.

"Well, the important thing is…you're alive, and now…we can hopefully finish off this war."

"Oh I intend to. Carlos couldn't be the leader _anyway_ since I'm still alive. You know what that means, don't you?" Alexis raised her eyebrows as Sam pondered the thought. She didn't even know why she was there, to be honest. Maybe Douglas had some work for her to do regarding the call of duty. Maybe he thought Carly had been safe and she could see her. "It means the gang that's left alive is going to ignore me because now it all comes down to Carlos having to fight us. Then again…if Sam issues the troops and all to take out the leader of the North and West, along with their assistants, then it's all over. All that's left is Carlos getting his ass kicked by a brother-sister tag team." Douglas smirked dangerously and turned his eyes to Sam, now he was ready. "Sam. Call up Derek, call up your dad, tell them to prepare. In just a few days…El Niño's will be no más!"

Sam nodded her head and looked to Alexis and Dexter, they had the College of Martial Arts and Computer Technology, they were cleared. She'd have to let the military and the police know this. Douglas took his baby in his arms and brushed her tiny strands of hair back, smiling a fatherly smile at her. He never knew it felt so good to be a father. Alexis would let him know the baby came out perfectly healthy, no herpes were contracted from the mother, as Carly didn't have a breakout during labor, and it was rare to contract herpes through birth. Maybe one day there would be a cure to cure Carly of it, but for now, that would have to wait.

"Bebé Jessica, mi hija hermosa. Traeré a su madre de nuevo a nosotros." Sam smiled as she turned towards the door, she was extremely happy for Carly to have a baby and now Douglas was here, she had someone to live for. Running a rough translation through her mind, she understood what Douglas had said. _Baby Jessica, my beautiful daughter…I will bring your mother back to us._ Never fear, father's home.

As for family, she had one place she really needed to visit. Someone she hadn't seen since before she ever was even kicked out of her home. Spencer and Sasha had a four month old son, Carly would likely want to see that nephew of hers, just as Spencer would surely want to see his niece. She once thought Spencer would throw Carly out the door, never wanting to see her again, even if he saw her now that he would want nothing to do with her. However, after seeing Alexis, who evidently was the hardest person around, _cry_ at the return of her youngest brother, it all made sense to her. Alexis had no one left, she lost her father and her brothers, basically everyone she cared about was gone. Spencer was in the same boat. He'd lost his father, his grandfather, and even Carly had gone missing. Surely he would jump at the chance to see his baby sister again, and she could promise him that she would be out of the sexual lifestyle. He _needed_ to give her a chance, as Sam's family did for her. Not only did he need that, Carly needed him to do that for her. More than anything, she would need that.

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><p>So Carly and Douglas's baby's in good hands, Douglas kicks major ass, and we probably know what's to come XD.<p> 


	57. Decision is Made

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 57 (A Deal is Made)<p>

Sam and Derek were let into Spencer's home by Sasha, her husband was currently out on work. Spencer would be home soon enough. She had her son in her arms and was smiling cheerfully at the two. "Sam, it's been a long time, how are you doing? I heard you had been overseas."

"Yeah, I'm in the Air Force now. This is my boyfriend, Derek." Sasha shook Derek's hand and led Sam to their couch. She sat in the recliner beside the couch and cradled her son gently, rocking him back and forth.

"This is little Kevin, isn't he precious?" Sam cooed and brushed the baby's blue blanket to his arm. Kevin looked up at her and let out a baby laugh. Sam enjoyed little children and hoped to have one of her own one day. Earlier she'd actually been able to play with baby Jessica, by some amount of surprise, Alexis and Douglas let her. Sasha "So what brings you here after all this time? I hope you don't think Spencer's going to throw you out…he won't." Sam pressed her lips together and leaned back. She crossed her legs over and watched as Sasha rocked the baby some more.

"He having a hard time? Spencer?" She thought for sure losing his father and his grandfather was pretty bad, she almost didn't want to tell him that Carly had been kidnapped by the very same gang that killed Tyrone and Steven. That gang had so much influence in his life, always popping up in the strangest of places in his life. He had to know how Carly felt, though. After all, his mother went through the same stuff with him. Carly _had _help though. She might not think it, but Alexis and Dexter had likely helped her tremendously. "I know it must be hard for him to have to lose his father, grandfather, mother, and sister to that gang…"

"Yes. He's had a lot of trouble dealing with the losses that he's suffered. Did you say Carly's lost to them too?" Sasha's blood started to thin out, becoming dryer as she thought more and more on that possibility. "We were wondering about her for a long time, we always wanted her to be safe and away from that sexual lifestyle." Tears came to her eyes as she looked away to a family photo. "You haven't seen her at all, have you?"

"No. I know her boyfriend, though. He's been overseas and is trying to get her away from there." She wasn't sure how Spencer and Sasha would deal with Douglas, but they'd warm up to him as she did. Besides, they had no option now, they could either forgive her debt and let her back in or disown her completely and pretend she never happened. "You remember Douglas Madison?" Sasha's eyes widened and she quickly nodded her head, she thought that guy dumped her. "Well evidently they got back together, her ended up in Iran for eight months and came back, long story short, he's doing all he can for her. Oh, and Spencer's an Uncle…"

"He's what?" Sasha brought her free hand to her mouth and quickly placed Kevin in his stroller beside the couch, quickly standing to her feet and looking at Sam seriously, with a look of guilt and sadness in her eyes. "Is it Douglas that is the father? You said he's trying to save her from that gang?"

"Yes. In a few days, that gang is going to cease to exist, just like Carly's past mistake. It's there, but if I can change, so can she. I…actually believe by now she'll see how that life style is a bad thing. Either way, Douglas's sister is taking care of the baby with her husband." Sam's eyes flicked to the brown door and she softly exhaled, trying to think of what else could really be said here. Sasha was already in shock, it seemed. "Since Douglas was in a hostage situation, he'll be trying to get reinstated into Seattle University, he'll have to get himself a house and everything. Carly needs a place, just until they can get a life started…she needs someone who will understand her and who will love her…"

"I know she needs that, but…" She closed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She wanted to help Carly, she really did, but it was Spencer that had the last say regarding his little sister. "She hurt Spencer badly, nearly cost him his career back then…He still doesn't trust her that much…" Just then, Douglas entered the house, biting the last piece of a subway sandwich. Sasha lifted her eyebrows and stared at him. She had left her door open just a bit. "Douglas?"

"Yeah. Sam, what's the verdict?" Sam narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, glaring sternly at Douglas.

"Did you seriously just waltz right in here without knocking?"

"I did. I need to know if they're going to let Carly stay with them, if only for just a few months." Sam lowered her eyes and Douglas pressed his lips tightly together. He lifted his hand and ran his fingers lightly over his soft, yet prickly beard. He eyed Sasha carefully and cleared his throat. "Are you aware that Spencer's mother was forced into prostitution? That he actually spent seven years of his life trying to run away from it, watching his mom beaten down, drugged up, and so forth?" Sasha's throat tightened and she lifted her hand to her chest, hooking her fingers over her neck. "If there is anyone that can take care of her, take care of our daughter, someone that can help her readjust…a person that understands her, it should be Spencer. He's her _brother_. No matter what she's done, he should still care, shouldn't he?" The older woman nodded as two tears scanned her cheeks. Douglas walked over to the couch and crossed his arms. No one spotted Spencer standing in the doorway, watching closely with shaking hands, he'd just gotten there. "Now, I inherited half of my father's money, that's over a couple million. I'm going to use that money to get back to where I was in school…still wanting to be a medical doctor. Hopefully I can get a better house, a family house for Carly and our child, a better car, and a wedding ring."

"You're going to propose?"

"If she'll have me, but because she just spent the last eight months held hostage by El Niño's and I don't trust Carlos to not have hurt her in some form."

"Eight months of abuse…"

"No, she was pregnant for most of those months. Jessica Alexandria Shay-Madison was born January 5th, my sister has been taking care of her. During the pregnancy, Carlos couldn't do a damn thing to Carly, but now…I suspect he's been doing shit to her and I intend to kick his ass. It won't be long before I have everything ready for her, but right now what she's really going to need is you guys. Do you understand?"

Sasha slowly fell back into the couch, her heart was aching and her body felt like someone just drove a ton of spikes into her. She never knew Carly would fall into so much danger, she never once fathomed Carly would be forced into such a life. Spencer closed his eyes, feeling his heart shattering inside. He was numb, feeling a force greater than any he'd ever felt. His sister was still alive somewhere, the last family he had. Sure, there were the Dorfmans, but he never spoke to his cousins. That side of the family was just too obscene and they stopped associating with him once Carly's life began spiraling through the sex and pornography. His balled fists trembled as he slowly took a step into his house, clearing his throat sharply. He'd heard of Sam's achievements in the military, it was something to be proud of. He thought she did well for herself and was building up a good, reputable persona.

The three looked up to him and Sasha rose sharply, looking strongly into his eyes. She knew it had always been a sense of pride within Spencer that kept him from wanting to help Carly out again, but if he was about to turn these two down _now_, then she was definitely going to have a say. She could see how devastating things had become for Carly and damn it, she wanted to help her. However, Sasha still said nothing. She saw in Spencer's eyes, a hint of sadness mixed in with relief. "Carly's alive?" To Sam, it was almost the same look that Alexis had in her eyes when she realized her little brother was alive. Shock, relief, sadness, expectancy, and so many other emotions all wrapped up into one giant emotion. Perhaps when he saw her, or when Sam did even, his true feelings would come out.

"Yeah Spencer, she's alive. I have the military and police waiting to rush in, everyone's strategizing…Douglas is going to take out the head of El Niño's himself, and in the process, he's getting Carly back. He's been in Iran all this time, hostage, so he's pretty much lost his house and everything he owned. Fortunately he has his dad's inheritance so he can fix certain things…that, and Alexis had made sure to pay off certain things she could. It might take him a month to get back to where he left off, but that's not even the biggest thing…she _needs_ her brother, Spencer. She _needs_ you."

He wanted to ask if she was out of that lifestyle, no longer in pornography, but he knew it could be hazardous to ask when it seemed so obvious what the answer might be. No girl needed to go through what she has, and he knew what she'd been through. He'd seen that kind of life with his own eyes when it came to his mother. He slowly closed his hands and looked carefully at Douglas. "The El Niño's, they have a rule…you have to kill the 'pimp' before you take her…"

"Believe me, Spencer. I fully intend to do just that. Both myself and my sister have some grievances with him. He will repay his debt with his life…"

"You get rid of El Niño's, and I'm sure _anything_ you've done will be forgiven to society…" Douglas raised his eyebrow as Spencer folded his arms over and gazed sternly into Douglas's eyes. "As for me, if you would take care of my sister…and, my niece…great. As long as neither of you are involved in the pornography business anymore."

Douglas smiled slightly and Sam felt a sense of peace coming on. Spencer had no idea how much this meant that he was willing to do this. Basically he was saying that he would gladly take care of Carly as long as she was _out_ of that lifestyle. That was one thing Douglas could _promise_ him. "I don't want her in that life, just as much as you don't. I promise you, I'm going to take care of her. I love her, with everything inside of me…I live and breathe for her, nothing can change that. I _will_ take care of her." Spencer smiled softly and tears drifted from his eyes as he extended his hand.

"Good. You seem to have become a good man."

"What can I say? Falling in love and having a kid…well, that, and being hostage for eight months…it does things to you." Douglas shook Spencer's hand, a deal had been made. Sam covered her chest with her hand and sighed happily, things were going to work out. She could feel it. Sasha was very pleased as well, and surprised that she didn't actually have to interject anything.

"Bring my sister back to me. In one piece."

"I will, sir. I promise you."

"I'm trusting you."

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><p>Big step here is made, Douglas and Spencer had a nice conversation I think. So, it's on now.<p> 


	58. His Session

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 58 (His Session)<p>

Douglas walked into Seattle University's registrar office and placed his paperwork on the desk. Alexis and Dexter were sitting in the waiting area with Alexis holding Jessica and Dexter reading a magazine. It wasn't as a hospital waiting room, he just wanted to get back into school. The lady at the desk eyed the paperwork and looked up to him with a frown. She had her curly red hair up in a beehive look and was chewing some gum. She wore thin glasses with chains on the rims. "So Mr. Madison, I believe your sister called us up during the summer and cancelled your fall classes. Spring classes begin March 26th, is this when you're registering for?"

"Yes ma'am. I need to get back in and continue my schooling. I'm hoping to be a doctor in a few years, you know." The lady smiled and straightened the papers on the desk.

"Okay then, sir. Let me just go through these and we'll see what we have to do." He nodded briskly and watched as she licked her finger and began flipping through the papers. He lifted his eyes away and sighed, he disliked when people did that to papers. Especially if the said papers were _his_. He looked over at Alexis and shivered, she rolled her eyes up and turned her gaze back to Jessica. It was strange for him to see her acting as she did with the baby, she was always hardened in his eyes. Evidently she really liked children. He watched her pull the blanket over Jessica and rock her. Dexter looked over to her and watched as well.

Most likely she would make a good mother, hopefully as good of a mother as she did an aunt. Douglas pushed his hands into his pocket and watched as Dexter put the magazine in his lap and reached over to tickle the baby, causing a tiny baby laugh to break from her lips. The laughter sent him into a mild state of euphoria, it was almost as if he was dreaming. Jessica had his eyes, a lighter complexion than his but a darker complexion than Carly's, as well as soft brown baby hair. In all honestly, he couldn't believe his luck, and he was definitely grateful to be alive. He knew Carly was probably wanting to experience all these things with him, and she would. He pressed the back of his head against the wall and let out a sigh.

Everyone was busy tracking the leaders of the Niño's that nobody really took the time to relax and enjoy the simpler things of life. He didn't _have_ the time to do that, however. He did want to be getting his life going so that when he rescued Carly, he'd already be going somewhere. Hopefully he'd be able to just skip the hassle of registering and whatnot and he could just get started.

"Sir?" He quickly looked over at the woman and smiled lightly. "It seems everything we need is already in our systems. You have your student information, all you need to do is sit down on the computer, log in, and state you're attending the spring term and select your courses. I believe you're going in as a Junior, correct?"

"Yes ma'am." He rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his head to the side. He closed his eyes and thought back to those months in the camp, he still had some pretty bad memories, but he wasn't going to let them get in the way of anything. "Do you…you guys have a psychology clinic somewhere, don't you?"

"Yes, they're open, so you should be able to drop by and say hi." Douglas pressed his lips together as the woman placed a map on the desk and pointed her pen to a building. "Right in this building, room 533."

"Thank you very much." Alexis and Dexter looked up at him as he walked towards a computer and sat down. They waited as he took a few minutes to register for the spring semester. He shot for any teachers he'd had before, those he was used to and felt comfortable with. He wasn't sure _why_, he just felt better that way. He could see in the lady's eyes that she wanted to know why he skipped out on the fall and winter semesters, but he didn't want to talk to her about it.

When he was done, he stood up and motioned for his sister and friend to follow him. They made their way out the doors and started heading to the psychology clinic. "Where are we going now?" Dexter looked at him curiously and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm going to set up a psychology counselor for myself. Maybe Carly too, later, I don't know. She still has to finish high school, doesn't she…"

"Actually no, she has her diploma now." Douglas raised his eyebrow as Derek smirked and folded his arms over. "We took advantage of those months that she was with Carlos and he couldn't touch her. Sure, we couldn't take her away from him, but Alexis was able to go in and help her take online classes and whatnot, teaching her everything she could. She studied hard for that diploma. We got her to be able to take the SAT, if she ever wants to go into college, and we got her to take her final exam at her old high school."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Alexis smirked and snuggled the baby close to her shoulder. Jessica was breathing quietly and her eyes were closed. She was so soft and so gentle, an angel surely.

"We talked to Mr. Franklin and he agreed to let her participate. Really it didn't take much for her to earn her diploma, just a few months of hard studying and the final exam she didn't get to take last year. She didn't get to go through the graduation ceremony, obviously, but she still graduated. Maybe you could get her to come to college."

"Who knows…after those eight months overseas, I'm not even sure if _I_ can handle college right now. I know I have to, though, there's no other option.

"Yeah, you have a baby to think about, along with Carly." He nodded and tilted his head towards the blue sky and smiled, how perfect it was to have his freedom back. His father had left him two million, giving Alexis the other two million. There had been an extra million that had been divided into half a million per Raul and Alonzo, but that million was gone now. Neither Alexis or Douglas cared for it. "So, if you're going to talk to a counselor right now, what will we do?"

"Anything you feel like, it might be a while…"

It took about half an hour for him to fill out all the information he needed, then he was in a private counseling room with a man who didn't look much older than thirty. He had a crew cut and a moustache. The man's name was Robert. They'd gone through the basics and now it was time to get into the deep part of the discussions. "So you spent eight months hostage in Iran, that's why you couldn't continue your schooling till now?"

"Yeah. My sister was sure I was dead, but she didn't act like it. She actually kept up payments on my house to avoid it being taken away. She was nice to do that, but now I'm going to need at least a two bedroom."

"Right, with a woman and a child to add to the mix. You know, I think you should start looking into a job as well." Douglas rubbed his chin softly and stared at the floor. He could probably get a job at a hospital, maybe doing some lab work. He was actually very skilled when doing a venipuncture. So maybe he could do some phlebotomy while studying to become a doctor. God knows he'd be at least twenty eight before _that_ happened. "Is there anything you would like to do until you become a doctor?"

"I don't know, maybe phlebotomy. I just spent half of my inheritance on what will be my college tuition, some set aside for a new, two bedroom house, and some other important stuff regarding the future." Robert nodded as Douglas placed a finger to his temple and exhaled. "I'm just glad the university is willing to overlook some issues of my past."

"Right, most colleges won't care if it's a thing of the past. For instance, I'm almost certain if you were to try and get your girlfriend to enroll here, she would likely be able to come to school here." Douglas smiled at that statement and placed the side of his foot on his leg.

"I will probably do that. Truth be told, I'm actually pretty nervous. It's been eight months since I've seen her. She's been in a pretty treacherous situation since then…I'm hoping to be able to help her out. Do you think the clinic here would be able to have sessions with us together, or one on one, or what?"

"Well, we're not normally supposed to have sessions with two people at once, but we _can_. As for one on one, that's fine too."

"She doesn't have to be a student here?"

"No. Normally we'd say yes she would, but yours and hers is a different case than usual. Talk to her about it, I'm sure she'd be okay to do so. You said your sister managed to save your daughter from the guy who has your girlfriend?"

"Yeah…but she hasn't been able to get Carly out. We're working on that now with the police." Douglas leaned forwards and pressed his hands together in between his knees. His face hardened slightly as he stared at the ground. "That guy who has her…I really do hate him. I know hate is a bad thing, but I don't think there is anything you can say to me to make me stop thinking about how much I hate him. He's a fucking _murderer_. He killed my father, was indirectly responsible for my brothers dying…he kidnapped my girlfriend, tried to have my best friend killed, and tried to have _me_ killed."

Robert pulled his lips back and leaned forward, placing his hand on Douglas's shoulder. He could feel him shaking, though it was just slight, he could feel it. Perhaps it was this Carlos guy that was far worse than the Iranians had been. "You will be able to relate to Carly, Douglas." Douglas lifted his eyes to Robert's gaze and his brows furrowed up in the middle, forming a small crease in his forehead. "You too have been locked up somewhere for eight months. You may not have gone through the same pains or traumas as she has, but you'll be able to relate in a way no one else will, and that will help out tremendously. For the both of you, because she can be there for you and you'll be there for her. Never forget to share what you're really feeling, you two are going to need a _lot_ of that."

"Yeah…"

"I also know a little about couples counseling. Now I don't know if you have problems currently as a couple, I can give you tips on keeping your relationship strong and whatnot." Douglas started to feel a bit of relief rising inside of him, this guy was probably going to be a godsend. "I can also refer you to my father, he's a veteran counselor with forty years behind him. He can counsel _anyone_ that you know. Know that you're not alone in the things you've gone through, none of you, or your friends, are alone. Take Samantha, as you said, she and her family can truly benefit from my father's services. Your girlfriend, your sister, your friend, anyone who has been through all this stuff. I know as you said, your girlfriend's going to need to reconnect with her brother. This is _extremely important _that they do so, because they are all the other has left as far as family goes."

"Yeah, they need to do that. What is your father's name?"

"Dr. William Monroe. Here's his business card." Robert grabbed a card from the end table next to his chair and handed it to Douglas, who took it graciously. Douglas also took a couple more so he could give them to Sam and some others that could benefit from counseling.

As the session continued, he learned more about the psychologist and about the man's father and how they could help by being someone to talk to. His spirits started to rise up and he began to feel more and more confident about himself and about the things going on around him. He'd have a weekly session with this guy, and maybe eventually the holes in his own life that formed over the past few months to years would begin to go away.

* * *

><p>There you are.<p> 


	59. End of El Nino's: Day of Reckoning

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 59 (End of El Niño's: Day of Reckoning)<p>

The day of reckoning had come, an all out brawl between the police force, the military, and the El Niño's. Each of them had someone stationed at a certain place at a certain time, there would be no need for arrests, these were specialized unites for taking out the enemy. They wanted El Niño's _gone_ with _no_ chance of rebuilding itself. Anyone that helped bring the Niño's down would be granted 'forgiveness' for any crimes they committed in the past. With the West and the South united together, fighting the East and the North, they were unstoppable.

Freddie was stationed outside the home of the North Niño representative, Erik Ramirez, he had about eight law enforcement officers and three military men with him. They were hidden along the back of Erik's small shack of a house and they were certain he had some men in there with him, along with a couple prostitutes. Freddie stared down the back door with his eyes hidden beneath his dark shades. His radio was at his hip, buzzing and waiting for the signal to go in.

Derek was stationed at the Northern leader's home. Emmanuel had wanted to stay out of the war long ago, but when Carlos and the Eastern leader paid him handsomely, he joined their side and started blasting away. Now, it was his turn to be blasted away. Derek looked behind him at the ten soldiers who were with him, including his brother. He gave him a nod and turned his eyes back to the door. Any minute now, the signal should be given.

The East representative had been replaced by a man named Nelson Andrews, odd as it was, considering Nelson really wasn't all that good of a fighter. He was a sleaze who was even worse towards women than Carlos was. The ones leading the attack against them were the representatives of the West and the South. The new rep for the west was Angeline Beckham and the representative of the south was still Rex. The two had at least ten fighters with them, seven from the West and three from the South. The sat patiently on the circle of rocks in the man's backyard, they would spring into action the moment the signal blared over their radio.

The Eastern leader, Felix Rodriquez, was actually taking a bath in his large upscale house. He was unaware that two leaders, one from each the NSS and the Little Valley Lokotes, were waiting behind the house with a bunch of their own men. Their gangs would be granted a pardon for some of their actions during the fight against the El Niño's. However, they were told to return _any_ prostitutes they found during this day or any they took during the war. They were under strict surveillance by the police department and the military.

In all minor sections of the North and the West, wherever there were gang members, the police, military, and even the two upper gangs raided that place. These were the ones who would not die this day, the foot soldiers. Rather, they would be arrested and sent to jail for their crimes. It was not hard, as after the war and separation of the West and South, there were really only about one to two hundred El Niño gang members left in all of Washington. Now the ones in the leader homes as well as the representative homes were fair game, they could be either shot and killed or arrested somehow. Either way, each person had to make damn sure the key targets did _not_ leave. The targets were not allowed to survive this day.

With all the pieces in place, David and General Beckett watched from Mr. Puckett's office. There had been cameras secretly placed in every room so when this fight took place, it would be monitored so everyone followed the rules. David had received permission from the police chief and the highest form of government possible to go through with this. The president was considering, if combining the military and law enforcement to take out major heads of a gang could destroy a gang, that maybe they could do this with other gangs in the country. If so, they could potentially end many gangs using this method. However, it did feel slightly uncomfortable to take this approach, to go down to their level, but if it was the only way to do it, so be it.

Sam sat outside of Carlos's large home, tapping her finger gently on the steering wheel of her car. Valerie and Jonah bought it for her as a present for her going into the military. She had not yet moved back in with her family, though she was allowed, she just wanted to be sure to save Carly first. It was of grave importance. Douglas and Alexis had slipped into the house somewhere and were waiting in secret. When Sam made contact with Carlos, that was when they were to come out. She had to wait about five to ten minutes after the signal to go in, she had to make sure there was no way for him to retrieve help. It would be unlikely that he would.

Now the total number of gang members, excluding the key targets, in each house varied. With Erik, there were about five gang members scattered around to either protect him or just hanging out. With Nelson, there were about six gang members, all taking drugs at the time. Today appeared to be their cocaine day, so they would definitely be distracted. Emmanuel was a bit bigger, there were eight gang members scattered about his home. They were each doing workouts in different rooms. With Felix, there were ten gang members accounted for. Carlos, oddly, had only three gang members with him, and each of them were sleeping. As for the men in Felix's home, they were each messing around with the prostitutes.

Sam narrowed her eyes as she did the numbers in her head, how many prostitutes were there? They'd been scanning the homes for a few days, along with the minor locations, and they'd not _once_ seen Carly. They knew she was in Carlos's home, though. Erik had two prostitutes in his home, Nelson had about six prostitutes, then Emmanuel only had three, while Felix had about nine prostitutes. The North were not as big on prostitutes as the East had been. Though, the South and the West never had prostitutes, they had been more focused on other things. Then there was Carlos, the sick bastard had nearly twenty prostitutes in his house. It made everyone sick just thinking about it. Scattered in all the minor locations, there were prostitutes there as well, but they were all about to be free.

The time of day had been selected perfectly, after memorizing the schedules of their targets, they learned very interesting facts. At this time every day, high noon, Erik would begin indulging on a brunch which included pancakes, a bologna sandwich, chocolate cake, fudge brownies, and a steroid injection to finish off his meal. Emmanuel would go into his basement, flip on some rock music and begin an extensive power lifting workout for about three hours. Nelson, at this hour, would pick from any one of his prostitutes and have sex with her in his bedroom. These sessions usually lasted an hour and even when consensual had a tendency to be loud and violent. Felix would often fill a bathtub of water and soak for an hour, listening to rap music and covering his eyes with an eye mask. Each of the targets were thus involved in something considerably loud that would keep them distracted from any fights that might happen. Carlos was the only one a tad unpredictable. Sometimes he would sit down and eat a chicken dinner, sometimes he would be having sex with one of the prostitutes, sometimes he would enter into the mysterious door on the top floor that he always kept locked, and no one knew what was in that room. They were hoping today he'd be doing something simple, like eating.

Dexter would be with Douglas and Alexis, but he was busy holding Jessica and remaining somewhere safe for when the two ended up fighting Carlos. None of the prostitutes were to die or be harmed in any way, this put the leaders of NSS and Lokotes, Caleb and Felipe, on a little extra watch just in case.

It came fast, but everyone received it. The second the hand hit the twelve, David and Travis sounded the signal over the radio and everybody jumped into action. Sam took a deep breath and stared straight ahead, her eyes narrow and her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. This had to work, there was no other alternative. "Hold steady Samantha," Her father's voice came in softly. "You can go in soon…and when you do, be careful…"

Sam acknowledged with a nod and leaned her head back, closing her eyes and exhaling through her nostrils. Her thoughts drifted back to the prior day when Douglas told everyone about the counselors. She and her family had started to go all together, and some on one on one sessions with Dr. Monroe, they hoped that it would enable them to be closer to each other. She was happy to hear that Carly _might_ be able to attend Seattle University, if they were lenient. Then again, her brother was a fresh and powerful lawyer now, if they _didn't_ let Carly in, then they could be in potential trouble with Spencer. However, that might only be if Carly and Spencer reconnected like they should. Spencer wouldn't go back on his word, though, and Sam knew that. He was pretty much done giving her chances, and if she fell back into pornography, then he was finished. However she was _confident _Carly could change. Hell, if she could stop living in that lifestyle, surely Carly could too.

Sam opened her eyes and exhaled as she stared to her left at Carlos's home, she just couldn't wait to get in there. Wherever Carly was, that's where she wanted to go. _"Valerie was the first person to believe in me, the first person to help me…and I'm going to be that person for you…Just hold on a little longer, I'm coming Sis."_ Her eyes drifted to a pair of curtains on the upper floor, she saw a redheaded prostitute watching her with fear in her eyes. Sam met her eyes with softness, delivering what seemed to be a promise of that woman's freedom. It was time, high noon on February 16th, 2013, a forty year anniversary of the gang. The end of El Niño's was here.

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><p>And now it's on, it'll be a string of chapters with the lieutenants and the captains falling, then finally we're going to see the big battle with a drug infused Carlos<p> 


	60. End of El Nino's: The War Begins

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 60 (End of El Niño's: War Begins)<p>

Caleb and Felipe smirked and stood as the call rang out over their radios, they whipped out their semi-automatic machine guns from their black trench coats, then looked to the twenty men and women behind them, all part of their gangs. It was time to blow Felix Rodriquez away. "All right Felipe, for once we work together." Felipe nodded his head as the gang members pumped their weapons into the air. The two leaders were dressed as old time mafia men, black trench coats and black hats and black boots.

"Let's do this man, and perhaps we can cease to be rivals after this." The men charged towards the front door and Felipe busted it open with the butt of his gun. The inside smelled of smoke that made the men lurch. Felipe covered his mouth and groaned painfully as his eyes begun burning. "What the hell!" Caleb coughed and brought his arm to his mouth while hurrying back outside and coughing loudly. The gang members waited with confusion as their leaders stepped back outside.

"The fuck are they cooking in there? Meth?" Caleb narrowed his eyes and looked back inside. It was a small one story house with possibly four or five bedrooms. Somehow Felix was able to stick ten gang members and nine prostitutes in this one house. Of course, that didn't account for the fact that the entire house was laced with thick smoke. It might be that they smoked way too much. "Okay, we're going to open every fucking window in there! Shield your eyes and if you run into anyone that isn't a prostitute, _shoot them!_"

"Yes sir!" The gang members cried as they all ran inside, shielding their eyes the best they could. There were five windows in the living room, it did not take long to find them. Within five minutes, the windows were all open. Felipe flipped on the switch for a ceiling fan while Caleb found and turned on an elevated rotating fan. Caleb and Felipe stood and sneered as the smoke began to clear, what they saw when they opened their eyes was a grisly sight. There was a dead prostitute in the fireplace, blood was all over the walls.

"Holy fuck…" Caleb felt the bile going up his throat and quickly swallowed it back down. He watched as Felipe walked to the burning flesh and knelt beside the girl. She was a beautiful blonde bombshell who must have talked out of turn or something. He shook his head and the gang members all lowered their weapons. "How the hell can someone do that shit?"

"I don't know man, but we better hope the other eight are in good shape." Felipe waved his hand through the air, clearing the smoke coming from the fireplace. She had been slashed into pieces, there was no other way for her to fit in there. He looked to a fire poker and frowned, he didn't have the heart to use that to try and put out the fire. Caleb picked his radio up and sighed as he spoke into it.

"We're going to need firemen here pretty soon." He set the radio back onto his waist and motioned the others to walk down a hallway leading towards the kitchen. There was one gang member filling a bucket of bleach and soap water. His shirt was soaked in blood. Caleb pushed his pistol back into his trench coat and slowly pulled a pistol out, then promptly placed it at the man's head. "One false move and you're dead. How could you do something like that to that girl?"

"Oh, the prostitute? Well she was fighting me, so I killed her." The man spoke with such nonchalance that it thoroughly pissed Caleb off. He clicked his tongue and slowly shook his head. "Wrong answer, fucker." The man's eyes widened and Caleb pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying through his brain. At the first shot, he turned to the other gang members who were positioned on the walls of the hallway. "That's it, all the members will be alerted, so prepare!"

Everybody hid in multiple areas of the house as the gang members began filing out of the bedrooms in the hallway. Some had their jeans pulled halfway up and were holding them with one arm while holding a gun in their other hand. Of the nine gang members, five of them ran into the living room where they stopped and gawked in disgust and horror at the burning prostitute.

"Get them!" Shouted a female member. The Niño's turned wide eyed as gang members popped up from behind the couch, from behind the pillar in the living room, from under the coffee table, and even from behind the television. Their eyes widened as bullets were sent into them at high speed. Their bodies jerked back with each shot, blood splattered and splashed onto the floor, the ceiling, the walls, and into the fire.

Felipe and Caleb stood back to back in the kitchen, surrounded by the four living gang members. They were both wielding their machine guns now. Caleb tilted his head and uttered to Felipe. "You take the right, I'll take the left." Felipe nodded his head and smirked.

"Got it. It's now or never, anyway." The gang members started to shoot, but the two men crouched down and began moving in a circular form, firing bullets into the four members' legs. The gang members shouted profanities as they crashed into the floor, clutching their legs and screaming out, crying for mercy.

The gang members looked up from their bloody pools as the two men stepped before them and aimed their guns at them. "No senior, please don't kill! Don't, we beg of you!"

"Look here pal." Caleb narrowed his eyes and pressed the gun into the whining gang member's left temple. "I have a hot steaming pile of, I don't give a fuck. Down with the El Niño's. You should have gone to Felix, but instead you came out here to see what was happening. Bad fucking move." The men looked up as all of the Lokotes and NSS gang members entered the kitchen, pointing their guns at them. They paled as Caleb let out a rocky laugh and started walking out of the kitchen with Felipe. The gang members let out a shrill cry as the bullets entered their skulls. It was a bloodbath that couldn't really be avoided considering who Caleb and Felipe were.

"Here we go Caleb." Felipe pointed at a closed door and smirked as he heard the sound of music playing from inside. "Felix is inside taking his bath, he's about to get a rude awakening."

"If Carlos gets word that his brother's dead, it could throw everything into jeopardy." He looked back at his fellow gang members, who were going into the various rooms and freeing the eight living prostitutes. The two men watched with grim faces as the tear filled eyes of the women scurried past them. Their faces were sullied, their hair was a mess, their clothes stank and were completely soiled. Caleb and Felipe frowned and felt their hearts sink. It was like witnessing a painful requiem, a melody of death. "Man Felipe…I don't think I've ever seen prostitutes in such bad shape before…"

"That's the hand of the violent East Niño's for you, they just shoot up their women with whatever violence they have…Now I can see why Alexis and Dexter separated from the Niño's and never had prostitutes…" Even their own prostitutes didn't go through all that crap. Yes it was a hard life, and yes there was some upset, but damn. Felipe placed his hand on his stomach and groaned. Their gang members were actually befriending the prostitutes, telling them they'd be safe and that they were going to get help. It was honestly the nicest they'd ever seen their members being. It nearly brought tears to their eyes. "Okay…let's show this motherfucker we mean business."

Caleb and Felipe busted the door open and Felix had his head lying back against the bathtub, eyes closed, and tapping the bathtub lightly. Somehow he had not heard any of the gunshots. Felipe sneered and fired a shot into the radio on the toilet. At that, Felix's head jerked up and his eyes widened when he saw the two men. "Holy Fu-" His body jerked and tore apart as they fired their bullets into him. The crystal bathwater turned red with blood and the porcelain white tub was painted red. Though he was long dead, and it was likely overkill, his body remained standing as the effects of the bullets tore his body apart. After a minute of fire, they decided enough was enough, the bastard had learned his lesson and would no longer threaten another soul.

"That was for every prostitute you've laid your filthy hands on." The slowly turned away and started walking into the living room, nodded mournfully at the remains of the first prostitute, and slowly left the building. The fire trucks and ambulances were already there. Their job was now done.

Erik's home was a one story house as well, he had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Nobody was sure why this guy lived in a two story bedroom, but they figured it wasn't important enough to be overly concerned with. Freddie narrowed his eyes as he moved along the side wall of the house, tracing his right fingers along the shingles. The eight police officers followed with him and the three military officers were going around the other side. If there was anyone standing guard at the front door, they needed to take them out from both sides, to confuse them.

The men stopped at a window leading into the kitchen and Freddie slowly peered in, Erik Ramirez was eating his bologna sandwich. The window was open for the air to come into the house, which was good. Nobody else was in the kitchen, and Erik's back was facing them. "Okay guys, the military will go in through the front door, we'll go in through here and meet them there."

The police officers nodded as Freddie leaned his silencer pistol in through the window and narrowed his eyes dangerously. He wasn't too thrilled with taking a human life, but the El Niño's were almost surely not human. These men did things that made his blood run cold. As he pulled the hammer on his gun back, he thought about all the things these men did.

His shadow fell upon the wall in front of Erik and the representative froze. He slowly set his sandwich down and quietly turned around to see Freddie aiming upon him. His eyes widened as Freddie pulled the trigger in his gun. His head jerked back and his expression was that of shock. He fell back against the food he'd been eating and blood seeped down to the table. "All right guys, let's get inside."

Freddie gripped the windowsill and flipped inside the house, landing flat on his feet. He eyed the surroundings as the police officers came in. He ran to the wall beside the kitchen doorway and looked out into the living room. Two gang members were leaning against a wall, chatting with each other. Two were lounging on opposite sides of the couch, watching television. The fifth gang member was kissing down the neck of one tear stained prostitute.

His throat clenched as he imagined Carly in such a serious predicament. He'd never once thought such a good friend over the years would have fallen prey to such a lifestyle! His eyes drifted momentarily to the front window and he saw the military officers run past the window and stop at the door.

Freddie held his gun up at his should and watched one of the gang members walk over and open the door, meeting his end to a barrel of a gun swiftly placed to his chest. As soon as the bullet tore through, Freddie stepped into view, aimed, and shot a bullet into the head of the man next to the prostitute. The woman gasped and the other three gang members quickly sprang into action.

The men entered the living room and Freddie decided to let them deal with the gang members. He walked to the prostitute, who had since fallen to his feet, and knelt beside her. "You're okay now."

"Thank you…" Freddie lifted his eyes as the remaining gang member on the couch fell to the ground, blood was gushing from his chest as he fell backwards. The prostitute's eyes widened and she quickly turned her gaze to the hallway where the other prostitute was walking from, hoping to see what was going on. "Is this a raid?"

"Pretty much."

"Are we in trouble?" She turned her eyes towards Freddie, almost pleading for him to not arrest her for prostitution. It wasn't like a lot of prostitutes out there, where most prostitution was willing. "Are you going to arrest me?"

"No ma'am." The second gang member let out a shout as a bullet pierced into his heart. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest and gasping for air. The prostitute put her hands to her mouth, releasing a gasping sob as her captors fell to the power of the police and military. Freddie gave her a reassuring smile and pat her shoulder, looking into her eyes. "You and your friend, we're going to get you back to your families and we're going to get you some help. There are grief counselors and other types of counselors _everywhere_, just standing by and waiting to help. The paramedics will have to check you out when they arrive, though. Understand?"

"Yes." Fresh tears came to her eyes and for the first time, they were joyous ones. She hugged Freddie and started to sob as the third and final gang member fell to the floor. It was almost too good to be true. The other prostitute took a deep breath, her body trembling as she eyed the destruction. Was she really safe? Was the gang going to come after them again? The men began flushing into the house, draping towels around the two prostitutes and leading them outside to where the paramedics had finally arrived.

Freddie smiled as he watched the paramedics lead the prostitutes off to safety, this was his reason for joining the law enforcement. Protection. To be there for the people who needed help the most. He closed his eyes with pride and let his team know they did a good job. He turned his eyes upon the house and lifted the radio up.

"Mr. Puckett, General Travis. Erik Ramirez is out, the prostitutes are free. The men are searching the house for anyone else just in case." After a couple minutes, the rest of Freddie's team came out and stood beside him. Freddie smiled at them and gave them a quick nod. "Great job guys, great job."

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><p>Takes care of Erik and Felipe, next up we've got two more going down and then finally we get to see Carlos<p> 


	61. End of El Nino's: Near Misses

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 61 (End of El Niño's: Near Misses)<p>

Angeline, the fiery representative of the martial arts fighter. She was now a qualified admissions rep for the College of Martial Arts and Computer Technology. Her hair ran down to the middle of her back, ending in a point. She turned her eyes to Rex, who was fidgeting with some kind of laser gun. "What is that supposed to be, anyway? Just asking." Rex lifted his eyes from the modified handgun and smirked.

"This is a laser gun of sorts created by Dexter. Once fired at an enemy, the laser will enter the body and deliver an electric shock to every organ, vein, vessel, and muscle in the body." Angeline raised her eyebrows curiously and slowly shook her head, she never understood that much about the gadgets the geniuses made, but they always sounded cool. "See, when it sends that impulse, basically all of the insides will explode."

"I see." Of the ten fighters with them, three of them were smart like Rex and Dexter, and they each had one of these specially made guns. These guns were made strictly for this purpose, and Dexter would melt them away later. "Well then, let's get moving."

They made their way to the front door and slowly peered into the window, the six gang members were sitting around the round coffee table with rolled dollar bills and sniffing cocaine. Rex wanted to try and perform a sneak attack, but Angeline just wanted to get things down. She leaned back and kicked her leg up with a shout, banging the door until it opened. "Aw come on, Angel!" The gang members shot their heads up and started wiping their noses with their fingers. Angeline shuddered as Rex and the other fighters with them entered.

"I hate drugs, they mess with your body, and not in _good_ ways." Angeline charged in and did a spinning jump kick into the chest of one of the gang members. The man shouted while the others started to draw their guns. The three smart fighters with Rex all pulled out a remote and pressed a single button, causing the guns in the gang members hands to explode. The gang members let out a shout of fear and took a step back. What just happened? Angeline crossed her arms and chuckled as she looked to the ones with the remotes. "So that's what you were doing sneaking around here in the middle of the night last night? Planting bombs in their guns?"

"Pretty much." Someone kicked Rex from behind and he quickly swirled around to see one of the gang members stumbling around. His eyes seemed out of whack and bloodshot. Rex frowned and stared at him pitifully. "I'd say it's time to fry your brain, but it looks like your brain's already fried…so it won't matter." Rex pointed his laser gun to the man's head and fired into him. The gang member's eyes widened and his body jerked upright. His eyes fell to the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground. It struck him close to see the effects of drugs on someone's body, even when they could stop, they never did. Angeline took a look at the dead gang member and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we'd see his head explode."

"In a way it did, just on the inside." She imagined the dead gangster with brain tissues splattered every which way in his skull, the thought disturbed her greatly. Their supporting fighters hurried up to them and looked at them with respect while giving them a suggestion.

"Go and get Nelson, we'll take out the rest of the gang." Angeline and Rex nodded their heads in reply and started hurrying off. They wanted to find the six prostitutes and release them first, and that shouldn't be difficult considering the house seemed that it would be small enough.

The duo ran through the house, opening doors and finding the prostitutes either sleeping or drugged up. The two had to rouse them from their sleep carefully, so as to not spook the prostitutes. In total, they found five. The sixth prostitute was currently in Nelson's bedroom having sex, whether it was consensual or not, nobody really cared. Nelson was going to die here and now, Angeline and Rex were making damn sure of that.

They made their way to the door at the end of a hallway. They stood on either side of the door, preparing for an attack. Angeline readied her fist while Rex cocked his gun and smirked, there probably wouldn't be much need for Angeline to attack once Rex shot the guy. Without hesitation, they busted the door open and found the amber haired prostitute giving him oral sex, she didn't look happy about it at all. Nelson quickly looked at the two as Rex spread his legs, pointed his gun and fired a shot.

"Shit!" Nelson quickly ducked onto the bed and the prostitute gasped as he finally released her. She quickly ran behind Angeline. Rex narrowed his eyes as Nelson stood up and glared at him. "You son of a bitch! Can't you see I'm busy here? What the fuck do you think you're doing barging in here like you own the place?"

"Killing you…Is there any question about that?" Nelson growled furiously and ran towards the end table on his bed, avoiding another shot from Rex. He pulled open the drawer and grabbed a gun, then quickly turned towards Rex and shot him in the thigh. Rex let out a loud grunt and fell to the ground.

"I don't think so, it looks to me like _I'm_ going to be killing _you_." He moved his eyes to Angeline as she roared and charged for him. Thinking fast, he fired a gunshot into her right kneecap. She screamed in pain and collapsed onto the ground. Nelson laughed maliciously and smoothly walked over to her, kneeling beside her and placing his hand on her abdomen. "Now you, I could have fun with before I kill. Then again, you make a good prostitute material." She glared up at him with fire in her eyes. He smirked and slowly traced his hand down to her thigh. "Hope you don't mind if I give you a test drive…"

"Get off me…" Nelson grabbed her wrists together with his other hand and held them tight so she couldn't try to hit him. She let out a shout and Rex's head jerked up from where he was. His eyes widened and he began to slowly push himself to his feet.

"N-No you don't!"

"What the…" Nelson moved his eyes to Rex and frowned as he saw the man point his weapon towards him. Rex's chest heaved and his body flared up with pain, but he was fighting the painful sensations. Nelson taunted him with a laugh and raised his eyebrows. "You don't have the guts to kill me."

"And you don't have the brains to not taunt me, I see. Get the fuck off her."

"Oh you don't like this?" He slipped his hand under Angeline's pants and she quickly twisted her waist, but the pain in her leg made moving unbearable. Rage pumped through Rex's veins as Angeline clenched her teeth together and struggled to free herself. She slipped up, she knew she shouldn't have just dived in the way she had.

"You're a dead motherfucker…" Nelson lifted his eyes to Rex's gaze and he became paralyzed. The moment Rex pulled the trigger, a laser shot into him. He felt his insides bulge, he felt the painful ripping of his organs and his veins. It seemed to be an eternity, despite happening in just mere seconds. Blood slowly trickled in a line from his lips, ears, nostrils, and eyes, it was a warning that soon blood would explode out of his mouth as if he were vomiting. Thinking fast, Rex swooped in and kicked Nelson to the side. The now dead gangster landed with a thud on the ground and spewed blood across the floor and onto a wall.

Rex slowly knelt beside Angeline, who was breathing heavily and staring at Rex with wide eyes. "Are you okay, Angel?"

"I'm fine, can't really move too well though…" Rex nodded slowly as their followers came running into the room. Their eyes widened as they saw the blood on the two, thinking fast, they lifted Angeline up and helped Rex walk, leading them out of the house towards the paramedics. "Thanks, Rex…"

"Hey, don't worry about it, as long as you're all right. Everything's fine, and will all be over pretty soon." Angeline smiled at him and watched as the paramedics began to work on his bleeding thigh wound. It made the pain in her knee much more bearable.

Derek and Josh made their way into Emmanuel Gonzalez's home, quietly and carefully with the other 9 soldiers. Alexis had stated it was still a mystery as to why Emmanuel had joined the enemy's side of the war, but they had enjoyed their prostitutes. Granted, the North treated their prostitutes somewhat better than the East, it was still a horrid thing, and these girls just wanted to be with their families.

Unlike the others, the ones in Emmanuel's home had families who were able to be contacted. The three girls there would have someone there for them. A father of one who'd been missing for years was coming, a brother and sister of another were on their way, and the uncle of a third one was making the trip to see his beloved niece that he'd taken care of for so long.

Derek looked to the nine soldiers and pointed down the right hallway. "I four of you to go down that hallway and search every room. When you see the gang members…you know your orders." Four of the men nodded and started rushing down the hallway. The left hall opened up into a kitchen where one gang member was located. Joshua pointed to a muscular soldier and motioned him to the kitchen.

"Take care of the one in the kitchen." The soldier nodded and started making his way towards the kitchen. Upstairs there were four doors, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Josh pointed to four of the men and motioned up there. "Any gang members up there, take them out. You find prostitutes, tell them to stay put until we return to retrieve them."

"Yes sir!" The four soldiers ran upstairs and Josh looked to his brother as if to ask him where to go. Heavy war music could be heard from below, so they just needed to find the door to the basement. Usually those doors were near the stairwell, so Derek quickly rushed to the stairs and found the door. He motioned for Josh and pointed at the door.

"Down here."

"All right, let's do this." Derek opened the door and the two brothers slowly descended the steps into the amber lit room. As they started to turn the corner, they saw Emmanuel with his back towards them, he was doing squats. Emmanuel dropped his weight on the ground and stood still for a minute, he knew they were there. He couldn't hear what had been going on upstairs, but he had felt the humidity shift when the door opened. The two stopped and stared at him as he turned to them.

"So, a military raid?" Emmanuel crossed his arms curiously and tilted his head. Derek shrugged and straightened his back.

"You could say that."

"Why the changes that have been going on? I'm assuming you didn't come to chat."

"Not really." Emmanuel narrowed his eyes and slowly smirked, he wasn't too interested in chatting either. He grabbed one of his weight disks and threw it towards the men. They yelped and jumped to the side as the disk smashed a hole in the wall. "You just automatically destroy your own house?"

"When it comes to people like you, yes. I'm going to wring your necks." Anger rose in him and he ran for them. He opened his palms and grabbed at their heads. They quickly sideswiped him and kicked him in the lower back. He let out a painful grunt and quickly reached back, grabbing Josh's leg. He pulled him and swung him around, tossing him into the wall. Josh exclaimed painfully and Derek's eyes widened. Emmanuel ran for Josh and crashed a heavy fist into Josh's waist, causing him to shout out painfully.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Derek charged towards Emmanuel and bashed his fist into the man's neck. Emmanuel cringed and swiped his hand backwards, hitting Derek across the face. He then slammed his fist into Dexter's abdomen, causing him to cough up blood and fall to the floor.

"I don't think so. Not until I've destroyed you. It'll be fine, Carlos and I will rebuild the El Niño's, nobody's taking us out!" Dexter groaned and lifted his eyes up to the muscle bound man. He swallowed hard and watched as Joshua slowly pushed himself up from the ground, his body shaking and surging with pain. Josh breathed heavy and slowly pulled a curved knife from his uniform.

"Don't go near my brother, jackass." Derek turned his head around and his eyes widened as Joshua slammed the knife down into his left shoulder and tore it through his arm and out his back. He let out a large shout and fell to his knees as Derek pulled his gun from his pack and aimed it to Emmanuel's head.

"Nobody will be left to rebuild your gang. You should have stopped what you were doing, fixed your life up, but now it's too late for you. Goodbye." Emmanuel clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, he didn't want to admit death, but he did have to admit to one thing. He'd seen it coming ever since he decided to join Carlos and Felix. He held his arms out and lifted his eyes skyward.

"Kill me then…" A bullet rang out from the side and struck him in the left temple. His eyes widened and his body slumped to the side. Derek and Josh looked over to see a woman panting heavily at the stairs, her arms over the stairwell and hands holding a smoking pistol. She had a yellow bra and panties, her hair was very light yellow and her body appeared thin and weak. The two brothers turned to her and lowered their weapons.

"Ma'am?"

"That…bastard…took me from my uncle." The brothers nodded and slowly walked towards her, then helped her up the stairs. The military men were waiting for them in the living room with the other two prostitutes. One was an Asian girl wearing a choker and with black hair feathering out just below her chin. The other was a Russian girl with thick black hair. The girls smiled vaguely at the men and the woman. "Romania, Jia, we're free…he-He's dead…"

The door flew open and the girls looked over to see their relatives rushing in. The paramedics and officers outside rushed in after and looked at Derek and Josh apologetically, they tried to stop the family from going in. The blonde smiled as the older man with the grey goatee and bald head hugged her close. "Mary, you're okay."

"Uncle Brad…" She wept as the other girls were hugged by their relatives. Romania was greeted by her brother and sister, who hugged her with tear filled eyes. Jia's father also held her close, his hardened face was filled with worry, concern and fear. Derek and Joshua smiled proudly as the paramedics rushed in every way to retrieve the bodies.

Already reports were coming in from various locations within the Northern and Eastern regions of Washington that the minor bases and locations were being taken down. The brothers looked to the basement as the paramedics carried Emmanuel's body out on a stretcher. The prostitutes and their relatives gazed with hatred and venom. He represented everything they hated about El Niño's. For them, seeing him dead was satisfaction enough.

Now, everyone was waiting on Carlos. In order to free the remaining twenty prostitutes, in order to save Carly, they had to kill him. Then, this infernal war would be over once and for all.

* * *

><p>Dun Dun Dun, and the war will becoming to Carlos. Everyone stand and shout, Carlos is a-goin' down!<p> 


	62. End of El Nino's: Phencyclidine Demon

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 62 (End of El Niño's: Phencyclidine Demon)<p>

Somewhere during Nelson and Emmanuel's fight, Sam had exited her car and made her way to Carlos's door. The thee gang members had already been incapacitated by Alexis, Douglas, and Dexter. However they were still lying in wait, in order to sneak up behind him. She opened the door and narrowed her eyes as she walked inside. It was very quiet, a little too quiet. She took a few more steps and turned into the kitchen. She was hoping she wouldn't have to search all three floors for him.

Her wish was granted when she stepped into the kitchen and saw Carlos sitting at the table. He was eating, but it seemed he was also taking PCP, otherwise known medically as Phencyclidine. That was not good, if he was. Sam cleared her throat and Carlos jerked into an upright position. "Carlos Rodriquez." He sniffed and wiped his nose, narrowing his eyes and glaring out the corner of his eyes. Sam folded her arms over and pressed her lips tightly together, glaring at him with flames of venom.

"That's my name, who's asking?" He rose from his chair and turned to her. She gasped softly and lowered her arms as she stared at him. His pupils were dilated, he seemed to have a blank gaze, but yet his eyes appeared to dart around her with rapid succession. He started walking towards her. She lifted her hands up and groaned in disgust as he walked with a peculiar gait in his step. "We've met before somewhere, haven't we?"

"Yes. You tried to recruit me as one of your prostitutes. I refused." He hummed lightly and frowned, setting his eyes onto her. He recalled her quite easily now. "For the record, I'm not here to join, either. I'm here to get my friend back from you." He raised his eyebrow and laughed.

"How are _you_ going to do that?"

"Simple." His speech was slurred and he was becoming rather disoriented. Sam clearly figured he was taking PCP. "I'm going to predict, Carlos, that an old ghost of your past will come to kill you. As of this very minute, all of your pillars are falling. Felix, Nelson, Emmanuel, Erik…they're all dying."

"What?" His eyes widened and he quickly grabbed her throat. She gagged and grabbed his wrists, trying to break free. He glared into her eyes and growled softly. "What did you say?" Sam moved her eyes past him and saw Douglas and Alexis slipping into the room, sneaking behind him.

His head jerked up and he dropped her to the ground, he was beginning to become paranoid. The two stared at him and their eyes widened momentarily. "Douglas, he's on PCP, be careful!" Douglas nodded at his sister and Carlos's glare fell upon him.

"Douglas! You're dead, though! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to fulfill a promise and kick your fucking ass, that's what!" Carlos raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Carlos. Alexis and I are going to kill you. It's up to you _how_ you die."

"Fuck you." Carlos quickly grabbed one of his table chairs and threw it at Douglas, who promptly leapt out of the way. Alexis leapt towards the right. The siblings looked at each other as Carlos roared insanely. They nodded and started running around him in a circle. Sam rolled to the kitchen doorway and pushed herself up quickly, opting to stay out of this fight. "Come here Douglas, I want to tear you apart!"

"Just try it, ape!" Alexis ran straight for Carlos and leapt into the air, spinning forward and curling into a ball. She stretched her right leg out and brought it down towards Carlos's face. Douglas slid on the floor towards Carlos's back and shot up with an uppercut. Both blows landed on his head. The two siblings leapt back and Carlos growled and clenched his hands. They weren't surprised, their blows did practically nothing to him. PCP was a dissociative drug, the user lacked a response to pain. Not only that, but the user of PCP usually became incredibly violent and displayed a great strength.

Carlos had just become even more of a monster than he had been before.

Alexis growled and narrowed her eyes. "Damn, I knew we should have taken him out earlier." Douglas chuckled nervously and recalled when he performed that operation on Carlos so many months ago.

"I _knew_ I should have killed him while I had that chance." Surely he could have avoided all this hell. "Alexis! Let's try not to focus on the fact that he's high on PCP." However, he knew that if Carlos took large enough of a dosage, it could kill him.

"Good point, let's just focus on killing this bastard and getting Carly." Carlos ran for Alexis and sneered menacingly at her. Alexis performed a quick side kick to his chest and a knife hand slice at his abdomen in rapid succession. He brushed off her blows and grabbed her neck. She exclaimed painfully and Douglas charged Carlos from the back once more. Carlos turned his attention to Douglas and sent his fist pounding against Douglas's chest, releasing Alexis.

Alexis rubbed her throat and narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Bad move, Carlos." She shouted and kicked one leg in the air, smashing it into his neck. She pulled that leg back, pressed it against the ground and bringing her other leg up and over. She flipped around and smashed her second leg into him, sending him flying into his table. The plate he had on the table flew into the air, along with the fork and knife. His eyes widened as the fork and knife landed on him, piercing his right chest and left arm.

Amazingly, he stood back up and slowly gripped the fork, then tore it from his arm. He did the same with the knife. Alexis raised her eyebrow as he charged at her with the knife. He swung the knife in an overhead arc, bringing the knife down upon her. Just before it clashed with her, she caught his wrist with her arm. He grunted as she turned her body into a circular motion and swirled behind him, twisting his arm and pulling it tightly behind him until he dropped the knife.

Douglas charged him and performed a jumping kick to Carlos's abdomen. He then performed a karate chop against Carlos's head and unloaded a flurry of punches to the man's chest. Carlos roared angrily and punched Douglas with his free arm. Douglas stepped back, winded and catching his breath. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Carlos. "You better not have drugged Carly up with anything."

"Don't flatter yourself, Douglas. I never bothered giving her drugs. Drugs would loosen her up, she's much better tight." He smirked dangerously and Douglas's eyes widened. Rage flared up inside of him and Alexis quickly slammed Carlos into the floor. "Don't worry, I only fucked her after she'd already given birth. However I'm just the pimp, so I didn't touch her very often. Not as often as the people who had to pay money for her."

"You fucking bastard!"

"Oh I'm sorry, you don't like people fucking your bitch." Carlos laughed and pushed himself up, ignoring Alexis and turning towards Douglas. "I didn't know that this bitch here was your sister. Go figure. I should have known that."

"Do not talk about Carly or Alexis like that!" Alexis rolled her eyes and shouted at her brother, scolding him.

"He's just trying to rouse you up, don't let him!" Douglas slowly nodded his head and closed his eyes, brushing off what Carlos was saying to him.

"It's fine, Carlos. You're going to die anyway. I should have killed you back when I neutered you. Long time coming, but today's the day…" Douglas performed a swift roundhouse kick to Carlos's head. Carlos cussed as Alexis performed a handstand and grabbed his neck between her legs. His eyes widened and she let out a dangerous shout, using her leg strength to flip him forward through the air and into the ground. She jumped up and twisted around, smashing her feet into his back.

"Enough, bitch, you're a pest!" Carlos grabbed her leg and pulled her down, slamming his fist into her chest. She coughed and broke free from him. Pissed, Douglas decided to charge him once more. Carlos grabbed his table and slammed it hard against Douglas, knocking him to the ground.

"Son of a…Jesus!" Carlos laughed and began smashing Douglas multiple times with the table. Alexis started to pale and she soon realized that she still feared her brother dying. Over the last several months, it was a natural fear that she had, a fear of losing everyone close to her. She charged forward and performed a side kick as Carlos brought the table again. She smashed her foot into the table and sent it recoiling back into Carlos.

Carlos stumbled backwards and moaned, rubbing his head and groaning painfully. Alexis knelt beside Douglas and put her hand to his back to help him sit up and her other hand to his abdomen. "Douglas, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine…" He slowly rose to his feet, holding his side and wincing painfully. Alexis helped him to stand and turned her eyes to Carlos, breathing hard and flaring her nostrils. "Bastard just won't fucking _die_."

Sam wanted to help them, but they told her to stay out of it for her safety, mainly because it was between them and Carlos. Right about now, they were half regretting that decision and half grateful for thinking of the decision. "Douglas, sit out of this if you have to."

"No Alexis, I'm not giving up until that motherfucker is _dead_."

"Douglas! Carly is more important than killing Carlos! Sit it out, I'm not as wounded as you are right now." Douglas looked into his sister's concerned eyes and frowned. He'd never seen so much concern and emotion in her eyes before. She was right, he needed to stay alive long enough to be able to get Carly. The things Carlos did, however, they reigned on him and tortured him. He was going to fight, as long as he didn't die, that was his thought.

His body shook as he took a step forward, glaring at Carlos. Alexis pressed her lips together and watched as Carlos twisted around and stared at the two. His face twisted into a sick grin and Douglas moved his eyes to the syringes on the ground. No he wouldn't sink to Carlos's level, but he did have a thought about how to beat Carlos. "Alexis, see those needles?"

"What?" Alexis moved her eyes to the syringes on the ground and her eyebrows rose. Carlos cracked his neck and began to approach them, his grin widening. Douglas winced as he fought the pain inside of himself. His body wanted to collapse, but he wasn't going to let that happen. Not again. Not this time.

"Fuckin' Emilio got lucky…I'm not letting that happen here." Douglas met Carlos's eyes and narrowed them dangerously. "I _will_ get Carly. Alexis, those are filled with PCP…the more you shoot him up with…"

"Won't that work _against_ us?"

"Not if you listen to me!" Carlos grabbed Douglas's arm and started to twist it. Douglas shouted and pulled away from him, slamming his free hand into Carlos's back. He leapt around and growled as Alexis started to ready herself to attack. "His heart will begin to speed up…the more you shoot him up with, the closer he'll come to death. It may be our only way right now."

"Got it!" Alexis did a frontal flip and grabbed one syringe off the ground. Carlos grunted and turned his eyes to Alexis. Douglas scowled and kicked Carlos in the back of his neck. Carlos grunted slightly and turned to Douglas, moaning slightly.

"You're fighting me, ass-wipe. Stay the fuck away from my sister." Douglas breathed heavily as Carlos threw a crooked punch towards him. Douglas clenched his teeth and took the blow to the chest, toppling onto the ground and sliding back a bit.

"Douglas!" Alexis narrowed her eyes and grabbed a second syringe, then leapt into the air. She spun in the air and turned herself laterally, then planted herself upon Carlos's shoulders and wrapped her legs around his neck. Carlos gasped and grabbed her heels as she slammed the needles into his body and injected the PCP.

She then leapt forward, kicking off on his chest and sending him crashing into a wall. She landed in front of Douglas in a guarding position and sneered as Carlos slowly stood up, his body shaking horribly. Douglas stood up and quickly scanned the floor. "Two more over there, Alexis."

"How many did this asshole have?"

"Too many…" Carlos ran for Alexis, but she dropped to the ground and slid between his legs. He grabbed for her and missed. She grabbed the two syringes on the ground and pushed off for him, extending her arms out and performing a flip in the air. His head snapped in her direction as she smashed the syringes into his body and injected the PCP. "Good job, sis!"

Carlos was sweating now, muscles were burning and his chest was throbbing. He didn't want any more PCP, no matter how good it felt to him. His heart was speeding up to a horrible speed. He clutched his chest and watched Alexis dart to another syringe on the ground and pick it up. His eyes widened as she returned to him and injected more of the dangerous drug into him.

Alexis leapt over to Douglas and narrowed her eyes as Carlos took another step, holding his abdomen and groaning. He was dizzy, about to collapse. He panted heavily and turned his eyes towards the two siblings. "What is your problem? Why, why do you care so much?" Douglas narrowed his eyes and glared venomously at the man.

"Because you laid your hands on my girlfriend. Don't even try to use the porn shit, that was a mutual idea that got out of hand, nothing more. I didn't want to give it to the gang and I wasn't about to give her over to prostitution."

"You love her…"

"Yeah. She's given me a daughter and I'm not letting that child grow up without a mom and a dad."

"Fuck it. You shouldn't even want to be alive, I'm sure she doesn't want to live either…Do you really want to deal with having a child? I mean all the troubles that kid will go to, and you better keep her away from gangs. Not as many people out there as nice as I am." Carlos laughed weakly and Douglas scowled at the understatement.

"She'll be okay now. Besides, that baby will grow up and yes she'll make mistakes, but she'll have a family that loves her. You're getting what you deserve now, Carlos. It's all over…" Sam's radio buzzed and Alexis looked over as Sam lifted the radio up into the air.

"All the other targets are incapacitated!"

Douglas nodded and folded his arms over as Carlos narrowed his eyes. "Carlos. It's all over now. With you, El Niño's dies forever."

"But I'm not down for the count yet." Carlos took a step towards the two siblings and they remained where they were, unflinching. Carlos felt his stomach lurch. His face began to pale as he fell to his knees and hunched over, spilling out the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He gasped and his temperature began to rise to fever levels while his respiratory system started failing. He was struggling to breathe. Douglas closed his eyes and turned away with Alexis, still gripping his side and taking a deep breath.

"No Carlos, it's over." Carlos coughed and spilt his stomach contents out once more. His vision blurred and he let out a painful moan. His arms became weak and his muscles started to fail him. The room was spinning dramatically. His eyes went skyward and he started to beg for help. He tried to inhale, but it was too late. He moaned and his arms slipped out from under him. He fell forward and splashed into the pile of vomit. Sam turned away with disgust and the two siblings started walking towards her. Carlos rolled over, holding his side as he started to feel the effects of the assault against his body.

He stared up at the ceiling and felt the saliva rolling away from his mouth. He coughed and vomited up once more. His eyes froze on the light fixture above him as the vomit sank back into his throat. His body was twitching, to the point he was certain he was having a seizure. After a minute, his body stopped convulsing, with only an occasional jumping motion. Other than that, he couldn't move, his body was basically dead. He gagged, gasping for air that never came, as the vomit blocked his airway. It would not take long, he would drown on his own expulsion.

Douglas closed his eyes and lowered his arms as he heard Carlos 's body cease to move. The sunlight bore in as Dexter entered the kitchen while holding Jessica in his arms. He took a look at Carlos and groaned, then turned to Alexis and scanned her. "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine, Dexter…" Alexis took Jessica into her arms and snuggled her close. Dexter smiled at her and turned his gaze to Douglas. Douglas's injuries were more internal than external. He may or may not have a few broken ribs, but he was definitely bruised up. Either way, he made it through. Dexter was about to ask how he was doing, but Douglas interrupted him with a slight chuckle.

"Okay, Emilio had _nothing_ on Carlos just now."

"I'll bet, bro…You guys did all right…" Dexter pat his friend's back as they started to hear the sirens from outside. If Carlos was telling the truth, then Carly would not have any drugs in her system. At most, she would have just been used for sex purposes.

Douglas took one last look at Carlos and breathed in softly. He thought of his father, of Jason, of his brothers who always hated him, and thought of everyone Carlos had ever hurt and torn away. He lifted his eyes upwards and smiled softly, he felt as though he'd avenged them all. What a relief it was that Carlos and the El Niño's were no more. "Let's go free the last few prostitutes and Carly." Alexis and Sam nodded as Dexter tapped his chin in thought.

"Okay, so while you guys were fighting, I managed to get into the computer systems. Found that nineteen rooms hold nineteen prostitutes, but all nineteen had a code lock on their door so they couldn't leave the room and only Carlos could enter." Douglas's throat clenched and his hands closed into balled fists. Nineteen codes for nineteen prostitutes, but there were twenty. Was Carly then the twentieth? Was she different, no code for her?

"I suppose you hacked into the locking system for us then, Dexter?"

"Yep!" Douglas chuckled softly and folded his arms over his chest. "The girls probably don't know it, we'll have to free them all as we go through the house." There were three floors including the ground level, which meant all the prostitutes were on the top two floors. "There's ten rooms on the second floor and ten on the third. I imagine that the paramedics will follow directions and go to the room we tell them to go to if one of the prostitutes can't leave on their own."

"Right…" The group made their way to the stairs and Douglas gripped the railing as he made his way up. His strength was slowly returning to him, Carlos didn't seem to get him as badly as he thought. Dexter stayed behind Douglas just in case he fell, but he displayed no signs of collapsing. "Dexter, Alexis, take this floor. Sam and I will continue to the top floor. Got that?"

"Got it."

"Any prostitute you find, tell them to make their way downstairs and outside where the paramedics and police will be waiting to greet them." Dexter and Alexis nodded as they started making their way down the long hallway. Sam followed Douglas up the stairs and watched him carefully, she was concerned that he might be exerting himself a bit much, but as long as he wasn't complaining, then maybe she didn't need to worry. She wasn't about to tell him to back off and wait, not while he was still so intent on saving Carly.

When they reached the top, they saw a wall directly to their right and a long hallway to their left. There were actually nine doors all together, eight of them were on the sides and the ninth was a blackened door with an oddly shaped top where two horns seemed to come out of the top corners. "Strange looking door down there…"

"Yeah. Let's do this." Sam and Douglas stopped at the first two doors. Douglas took the doors on the right while Sam took the ones on the left. They opened the doors and saw a single prostitute in both rooms. The girls looked at them with wide eyes and held their breaths. They gave the girls a reassuring smile and pointed to the stairs. "Outside you'll find paramedics and police, they'll treat you and they will send you to your families as well. Granted you'll probably be hospitalized for a while. I promise you, you will _not_ be arrested. This prostitution, it is not your fault. Oh and if you don't want to lose your lunch, do not look into the kitchen. Yes, Carlos is _dead_. He can no longer harm you in any way whatsoever, you're safe, you're free. Now get the hell out of here."

The girls smiled softly and slowly nodded as they ran from the room, not taking anything with them. They hurried down the steps and joined other prostitutes who were going as well. Douglas and Sam went from room to room, delivering basically the same speech. Some girls were in so much pain that they couldn't leave their beds, some even looked like they were close to death. These were the ones that Douglas and Sam had to call paramedics up for. Still, there was no sign of Carly.

When they reached the large black door, they were more than _certain_, this had to be Carly's room. She was likely the last prostitute in the entire El Niño's gang, as no reports of any prostitutes fit her description.

Douglas and Sam breathed in heavily while reaching for the doorknob. Sam turned it, but the door would not open. "It's locked!" Douglas growled intensely and started pushing on the door. They heard a shout come from inside, the person in there was well aware of their presence. "Carly! Is that you? How do we open this door?"

The person inside moaned and Douglas looked down the hallway with concern, he was damn certain he needed to get in there one way or another. Only question was how? Sam looked at the bottom of the door and frowned, it was touching along the floor, so nothing could get in or out. Suddenly Douglas's radio buzzed and Dexter's frantic voice came over the line. "Doug! Doug!" Douglas lifted his eyes up and grabbed the radio.

"What?"

"Listen, almost everyone's outside now, but we have a problem man! There's a big metal pressure pipe going up and into a third story window." Douglas raised his eyebrow and looked towards the door. Every other room they checked had nothing in the windows at all. His heart started to sink and Sam began to feel the fear rising up inside him. "We were talking to a prostitute who told us Carlos was getting tired of having to deal with Carly, thought she was causing too much trouble. He's trying to fill her room up with water, it's been like that for the past hour! If my calculations are correct, based on what the prostitute said about the room size and the water pressure, the water should be _almost_ level with the bed in there! Carly's tied to that bed, Douglas!"

"Shit! How the fuck do we open this door?" Dexter didn't respond for a moment and the two started to become fearful. After a minute, he finally replied. "The door isn't locked, it only opens inward and there's no way to open it from the inside. If you can't push it open due to the water in the room, then you need to break the hinges off the door. The water will then leave the room and carry the door away. Either that or you need to somehow chop the door down, it is wooden."

"Chop the…wait…" Douglas quickly ran into the nearest room where a couple paramedics were resuscitating a prostitute and putting her on a stretcher. "You two!" They looked up at his frantic gaze and he gestured his hand out into the hallway. Sam was shouting at the door, hoping Carly could hear her. "Do _either_ of you have an axe for emergency situations or something? Please!"

"Y-Yes sir, let me get into my kit." The man walked over to his large pack and Douglas began sweating.

"Hurry! Come on!" The paramedic opened the kit and pulled out a large axe. Douglas thanked him and grabbed the axe, then ran out to the door. "Sam, get out of the way!" Dexter's voice came over the radio once more.

"Douglas, Alexis is still in there on the second floor! She's talking to one of the prostitutes, trying to calm her down."

"Tell her to get on the bed or something. I don't know that the water will even reach her to be honest. Are they trying to shut off the pressure down there?"

"Yes, they found the generator, it's hooked up to the fucking fire hydrant. We've called in the fire department. Now hurry!"

"I'm trying my best!" Douglas lifted the axe up and Sam screamed as she ran into the nearest empty room. She didn't want to be standing here if he chopped the door down and water started rushing out at a high velocity. He stood to the side of the door where the water wouldn't reach him, then started hacking away at the bottom portion of the door. His hits were centralized and hard. Eventually the water began chipping away under the door until he had a large enough hole that the water rushed out. Douglas watched with wide eyed panic as the water shot out down the hallway. The hole was about six inches wide and a foot off the ground. He growled slightly and aimed the axe towards the center of the door, which was about three feet off the ground. He slammed the axe into the door and the water pressure shot out the section due to the door being weakened as it was.

Sam stepped out of the room once the water level was low and it was simply a little running water on the floor. She took a look at Douglas, he was breathing heavily and a look of pure fear seemed to fill his eyes and his tense muscles. It was the most fearful that she'd ever seen him, and she knew he'd had a rough as hell life. She stepped out and Douglas tore the door open, practically tearing it off of the hinges anyway in his adrenaline filled rush.

Carly was lying on the bed, her eyes closed and hair soaking wet. Her body was clammy and covered in sweat. Sam cupped her hand over her mouth and tears dripped from her eyes. Douglas ran to the window and began chopping away at the window. Carly hadn't even realized that the two were inside, she had her eyes clenched tightly and was waiting for the water to kill her.

Sam stepped at the footboard and gripped the end of the bed, gazing sadly at Carly. "Carly? Carly…" Carly moaned again as Douglas furiously continued hacking at the wall around the window. He knew since it was a metal pipe and not a rubber one, it wouldn't flop about wildly. He didn't care, though, he just wanted it _away_ from Carly and not a threat to her! "Carly! You're okay! Open your eyes and look in front of you. It's me, Sam!"

Carly stopped moaning, her body tensed with longing for her friend and pain. "Sam?" Anything to get her mind off the flowing water, that was all that Sam needed right now. She knew Carly had to stop thinking of that fear. Carly still had her eyes closed, whimpering softly. She heard Douglas's flurried grunts but didn't realize it was him. "Sam is that you?"

"Open your eyes Carly."

"I can't, I'm afraid…the water, I don't want to see the water…"

"It's gone, Carly. You're safe."

"No, I still hear the pressure hose…" Douglas slashed once more and the wall containing the hose began to tear back. He was soaked from head to toe and several times he had nearly been blown back by the water pressure. The fire department was below and already working to turn off the pressure, but despite that, he continued his frenzy.

"Carly, please open your eyes!" Hearing his voice, Carly's eyes shot open just as the water pressure started slowing down and the wall tore away from the house. Carly stared ahead and saw Sam. She was crying and her knuckles were gripping the board tightly. Carly turned her head slowly to Douglas. He was bent over and breathing rapidly. His hand was on his stomach and he was near vomiting from all of that panic. So much for being calm.

"D-Douglas?" He looked at her and met her eyes, smiling softly at her. "Is that really you? I'm alive?"

"Yeah you're alive. I told you I'd come back for you, Carly." Carly whimpered softly and tried to move her hands and feet, but they were still tied down. Douglas was starting to grow weary of this, so he took the axe head and carefully cut the ropes on her wrists and ankles. He then tossed the axe to the side and moved to the side of the bed as Carly sat up carefully. He smiled at her and ran his hand through her soaked hair. Her lip trembled and she let out a soft moan.

"Douglas, I'm so sorry…I never meant to do this…"

"I know you didn't, and I never meant to take so long."

"I thought Emilio might have killed you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shirt, sobbing lightly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her wet hair. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and he had his eyes closed. He was trying to relax his breathing, trying to calm down.

"He almost did, but the Iranians found me. They nursed me to health and then decided to hold me hostage…Sam found me." Carly gasped softly and turned her eyes to her best friend. She was like a ghost of the past.

"Sam?" She let out a weak whimper as Sam sat down and placed her hand upon Carly's. She smiled softly and squeezed Carly's hand gently.

"I'm in the Air Force now, Carly. My…my boyfriend and his father managed to vouch for me."

"Boyfriend? H-How…what happened to you? So long ago…"

"Jonah and Valerie let me stay with them because I got kicked out. Things are different now and that's a time of the past."

"Guys?" The three looked up to see Alexis walking into the room, smiling softly. Carly saw her baby in Alexis's arms and reached out, tears were streaming down her cheeks even harder now. "Let's _not_ do that again." Alexis handed Carly her baby and watched as Carly snuggled Jessica close to her. "She'd been crying this whole time, she wouldn't even stop crying until all that water went away and we reached the room…" It was always a possibility that Jessica felt her mother's fear and pain, possible she cried until her mom was safe. Though as far as Douglas, Sam and Alexis were concerned, they weren't safe until they left the fucking house altogether.

Carly felt Douglas's arm around her shoulders and she tensed slightly. She trusted him and was comfortable around him, but right now any touch was almost more than she could handle. She brushed away the feeling and rested her head on his shoulder as they held Jessica. "She has your eyes, Douglas…"

"Yeah, she's a beautiful little girl. Maybe now we can all be family. I guess we'll talk about that in a little while."

"I have nobody to go to now…" Sam shook her head and Carly met her eyes.

"I wanted to get to that, Carly…Right now, with Douglas dealing with a change in house, clearing up whatever issues happened while he was captivated, and so forth…we think you need to be with family. I've talked to Spencer-"

"He hates me now, Sam…"

"No, no he doesn't. Carly, he's gone through a lot of shit now. He wants to see you, he wants to see his niece. You have a nephew, Carly…Spencer wants to take care of you, at least for now, as long as you don't get mixed up in that porn life again. Carly, it was Valerie who saved me…she's the one who believed in me, the first person who cared. Even when my closest relative disowned me, circumstances changed that. I think that's what happened with Spencer, but family is always family. Carly…will you come with me? Spencer's willing to give you another chance. He needs you, you need him…"

Carly felt her heart rise to her throat as her mind drifted off to Spencer, she wanted to see him so badly. If he was willing to take her in, who was she to say no? She knew the porn life was not a pleasant one, and after the whole ordeal with the gang, there was no way in hell she wanted to go back there. She looked to Jessica and closed her eyes. She had a kid to raise too, she wanted to be a good mother and a good role model.

"Y-Yes." Sam smiled brightly and Carly let out a small sigh. Douglas saw the rope cuts on her legs and arms, she must have been thrashing about for a good time. It would probably be hard for her to walk. He would help her if she needed him to. All that mattered now was getting her out. Dexter and the others kept anyone from entering the house to check on them, so they could only wait until they came out.

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><p>What did ya think of the fight there, hope you guys liked this chapter.<p> 


	63. End of El Nino's: Carly's Freedom

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 63 (End of El Niño's: Carly's Freedom)<p>

Douglas looked into Carly's eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, two things. One, are you able to get up and move around?" Carly slowly shook her head and stared down at her legs. All of her thrashing caused deep tears into her skin and they burned badly. "Okay, then I'll help you there. Two, did Carlos ever drug you with anything? Are you drugged?"

"No. I never let it happen, but he never tried to drug me…c-can we please leave now?"

"Yes." Alexis took Jessica in her arms as Douglas stood and put his arm under her back and her knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her forehead onto his shoulder as he lifted her up from the bed. His injuries from earlier were still there, but due to all the adrenaline and his own personal strength, he was able to bypass those injuries and not care. Douglas could already hear the news chopper circling around the building, evidently the media wanted in on the action. He could almost picture Spencer shouting profanities at them. As they stepped out into the water soaked hallway, Carly glanced ahead and moaned lightly.

"Is _he_ dead, or at least arrested?"

"He's dead, Carly. El Niño's is completely out of the picture now. Nobody's going to hurt you ever again." Carly smiled softly and thought back to her grandfather. She hadn't seen her grandfather dead for the reason she did not want to remember him in such a ghastly manner. However, Carlos was another story. She wanted to see him dead, she wanted that closure. "Granted his death was really caused by PCP and drowning, he was still pretty rough…"

"I want to see him." Douglas raised his eyebrow as Alexis and Sam looked back curiously. The two girls were in front of them to make sure nothing happed, not that anything would. Carly pressed her chapped lips together and swallowed hard. "I want to see that monster dead, I want that closure. I _have_ to have that. You should understand how I feel, Douglas." Douglas sighed and slowly nodded, although he was hesitant to let her see the man's vomit covered body.

"I understand. He should still be in the kitchen unless the paramedics managed to take his body out and clean him up." As they made their ways to the steps, Alexis carefully descended them in front while Sam held onto Douglas's arm to make sure he wouldn't slip on the water. "Carly, I know it's a bad time to say anything about this…" He looked at baby Jessica and exhaled. His breathing was a great comfort to Carly, who was still huddled close to his chest. "One day, I want all of us to be a family. Me, you, Jessica…I want to be a father." Carly smiled and lifted her eyes to his.

"Okay. I agree…" It was then that she noticed his beard for the first time. She smiled slightly and reached up to feel of his beard. "That's new. I like it."

"I thought you might. I promise I'll never leave your side again, Carly."

"It's okay." She stared off to the side, trying to fight away the memories of the last several months. Her brow furrowed and crease lines formed on her forehead. "During my pregnancy, Dexter and Alexis managed to take care of me. When Jessica was born, Carlos made it so they wouldn't be able to see me. I think he sent me out on the streets at least two times a week sense then and kept me locked up the rest of the time."

"It's okay, you don't have to go through that hell again." They reached the bottom of the steps and passed through the kitchen. Carlos was still lying on the ground in a pool of his own vomit. Carly gasped and pushed her face into Douglas's shirt, pulling at it slightly. She took a second to work up her bravery and carefully looked back at him. He was pale and cold, no longer moving. Her breathing grew hard and she looked to Douglas.

"Set me down…I'm going to try and walk." He nodded and carefully set her on her feet. She had her arms around his and Sam's shoulders and winced as her feet touched the ground. She ignored the burning and slowly moved towards Carlos's body, staring at him. She was taking in the full sight, memorizing every single detail she could. She wanted to remember him this way, to remember that he was indeed dead, that he was not _ever_ coming back, that he would not rise up in that moment and grab for her. She sniffed and looked over at the others. "Okay…I'm ready. I want to see Bridget, though. Do you think I could see her?"

Sam actually knew who Bridget was, after Alexis had explained it all to her. She placed her hand on Carly's shoulder and smiled. "Chances are, she's out there with everyone. If not, we'll find her and let you see her."

"Okay…"

"Come on, let's get you outside. Everyone's waiting for us." Carly placed her arms around Sam's and Douglas's shoulders and let them walk outside with her. Alexis led the way. Once they made it outside, they were surprised to see Bridget was the first person at the door. Carly gasped as Bridget ran up to her and placed a towel over her shoulders. Her face was ridden with guilt and concern.

"B-Bridget!"

"Carly, this whole thing's been all over the news. When they said your name, I rushed over." Carly smiled lightly as Bridget gave her a hug. Carly looked down at her body and sighed, she had simply a bra and underwear on with white leggings. She felt cold.

"You wouldn't happen to have brought clothes with you? I'm feeling a bit cold right now." Carly's eyes scanned over the people that were around. General Beckett and Mr. Puckett were there, Freddie was there with Derek, Jonah, and Valerie. Sasha had their backs faced and were arguing with a reporter. The entire police force and a bunch of the military were around as well, along with all of the prostitutes that had been saved and were in the process of being reunited with their families. Carly gave Bridget a sad look and exhaled. "Adam? Is he…is he okay?" Bridget's face fell and she slowly shook her head, remembering the night Carlos busted into the strip club.

"No, he died from the complications…" Carly closed her eyes tightly and looked to Douglas, who was staring down the reporters. He wanted them to back off just as much a Carly did. She didn't want any attention from the media right now, and Spencer was probably going on about that with the reporter.

"I feel so bad…about everything that happened that night…how's the club going?"

"Everyone's still there. Paul had to take over until he could find someone suitable. My husband, we're married now by the way-" Carly's eyes widened happily as Bridget showed her the beautiful ring and grinned widely. "He's _thinking_ about taking over, but I don't work as a stripper anymore. I've moved away from that life now…"

"Yeah, I can imagine why." Carly hugged Bridget again and looked over as the reporters began bugging the crap out of Mr. Puckett and General Beckett. Carly was astonished by how much publicity this whole thing was getting. "Jesus, how big of a deal _is_ all this?" Bridget glanced over and chuckled nervously.

"The police and military band together to take out a whole gang that was causing trouble in Washington? It's going to generate a lot of publicity."

"Go figure." She rolled her eyes and took Jessica from Alexis. Bridget gasped and the corners of her lips curled upwards as Carly snuggled her daughter close to her. "This is my baby. Douglas is the daddy. She's the reason I made it through most of the months…"

"Oh my god she's so adorable!" Bridget squealed and jumped for joy. Carly might be able to start a life, that alone was enough to make her thrilled for her friend. Someone cleared their throat and Carly looked up to see Spencer and Sasha walking her way. Sasha was holding a small baby in her hands. Carly swallowed hard as Sam gently pushed her forward.

"S-Spencer…"

"Carly…" Spencer pressed his lips together and met Carly's gaze, tears began dripping from his eyes. He tried to avoid those, but he just couldn't. Carly smiled softly when she saw them, it helped her to know maybe Spencer really did care about her. It calmed her, relaxed her. She needed them and he didn't know just how badly she did. "I…I thought you might like to have this." He took his hand from behind his back and handed her a rolled up shirt. Carly blinked and handed Jessica back to Alexis, then she took the shirt in her hands and let it open. She gasped and her eyes started to glaze over. It was her old favorite pink t-shirt with an enlarged photo of her with Spencer that had been embroidered into the shirt. She was only fourteen years old in the picture.

"Oh my god, you still have this?" She sniffed and quickly put it over her head and pulled it down her body. She lifted her hands up and pulled her hair from the shirt. The shirt felt so warm, so comfortable. She wrapped her arms around herself, though pulling her wrists away from her sides so she wouldn't hurt them. "I thought you would have thrown this out."

"You're still my little sister…" Carly's eyes quivered as she took a step closer to Spencer. "We're family, plus…all we really have left in our immediate family is each other. I was hoping to make a proposition…"

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, if you're going to start a family with Douglas and your daughter, while he's working on getting everything situated…maybe you and your daughter would like to stay with us for a couple months." Carly gasped and looked to Sasha, who was smiling at her. She searched Spencer's eyes and found truth in them, he was honest about his words. Thinking fast, she quickly hugged him and let out a single sob.

"I'd love to, if you'd let me back! I promise I'm done with the sex life, I promise! I promise! I promise!" Her sobs turned into bitter tears and Spencer's mouth turned to a frown. It was in this moment he realized just how badly both of them were hurting and how much they needed each other. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back gently.

"It's okay Carly. It's going to be okay."

"I'm _so sorry_ Spencer, I didn't mean for things to get so bad." Carly hugged him tighter and cried harder. It was just the emotion of seeing him after all this time, the feeling of being accepted by him again, it was almost overbearing. "I miss you, I love you…You're my brother, I don't want to lose you!"

"You're not going to lose me Carly. Don't blame yourself, either, it isn't your fault what happened. Never think it is, got that?" Carly nodded and stifled another sob. "Hey, hey, look here…" Carly sniffed and looked up to Spencer as he gave her a reassuring smile. He pointed his hand to Sasha and Kevin. "You're an Aunt now. This is your nephew, Kevin." Carly smiled and stepped back, then took Jessica back from Alexis and walked over to Spencer.

"This is Jessica, she's your niece." Spencer smiled and took the baby into his arms. Jessica cooed happily and met his eyes. He was amazed at the miracle that he was holding.

"She's precious." Sasha looked back at the reporters surrounding the building and sighed, she felt uncomfortable with them all there and she knew if she felt uncomfortable then Carly _definitely_ felt bad.

"Carly, would you like to go somewhere else?" Carly looked around her and bit her lip, she wasn't too sure to be honest. She knew she needed medical treatment for where the rope had dug into her flesh, but she didn't want to be treated around all of these people.

"I do, but I need to have someone take care of my wrists and legs, I thrashed about too much up there and the ropes really dug into me…" She showed Sasha her open wrist and the woman let out a gasp. Douglas stepped next to her and took her arm into his hand, inspecting the wound.

"I can easily take care of that. Granted, after that, we'll still have to get you to a hospital. If you want to get out of here, we can all do that and I'll treat your wounds. I know I need to get checked up, so maybe we should go straight for the hospital."

"Yeah…yeah I agree with that." So with that, Sam, Douglas, Alexis, Spencer, Sasha, Carly, Bridget, and Dexter all slipped out of sight. Now all that's left was recovery, and that seemed like it would be difficult, but at least somewhat bearable.

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><p>Got a few more chapters, so bear with me.<p> 


	64. Finally Home

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 64 (Finally Home)<p>

Sam parked in front of her family's home and took a deep breath. Next to her was Derek and sitting in the back seat were Jonah and Valerie. Her body was warm with nervous emotions and her breathing was slow. Now was the time, with everything done and said, just a few days after saving Carly from the gang, her mom and dad had been waiting for her to come back. She'd been waiting till they got Carly before she did this. They were letting her back in. Her boyfriend and best friend were here for moral support.

Derek reached over and gently squeezed her hand, comforting her with his soft smile. She had no idea why she was so afraid or nervous about this, maybe because she hadn't felt her family's love in so long. "Have I really regained their trust? Their respect?" She knew they were all going to do this whole counseling thing with the guy that Douglas told them about. She had a counselor of her own, though, and Mrs. Crown had helped her out tremendously. She actually wanted to be a counselor one day, hopefully specializing in teen girls and women who were trying to escape the world of pornography and prostitution, as well as girls who were starting out into it.

She'd recently been contacted by the famous anti-porn advocate, former porn star, Shelly Lubben who had been a television porn star back in the nineties. She now was the founder of the "Pink Cross Foundation". That woman was now her contact and mentor. Sam really wanted to give her family the good news about that as well. How she found Sam, through Valerie's cooking show. Though Mrs. Lubben had enough decency to not contact Sam while the show was airing, she sent her an email asking her if she'd like to talk.

It had been great to talk to her, to hear from her, and Sam really enjoyed what she learned. She learned about how the porn industry was back then and how it is now, about the things that Sam managed to somehow _avoid_. The highlight of their conversation was not just the Pink Cross Foundation, but rather the life that Mrs. Lubben lived now.

As for the Pink Cross, it was started in 2009 as a faith based and IRS approved public charity dedicated to reaching out to the adult industry workers and offering the emotional, financial and transitional support. They focused on reaching out to the adult film industry and offering any support to porn stars as well as reaching out to those struggling with pornography and offering both education and resources to recover.

When she contacted Sam, she let her know a great place to contact her at the website, which was the pink cross dot org. They had a free website membership where members could receive help from the Pink Cross Team made up of recovering porn addicts, ex porn stars, ex drug users, and the like. All of which had been through the same pains. Shelly asked if she could contact Carly and Sam told her that Carly suffered much worse than she did and as of right now, didn't want to have to deal with _more_ than just counseling. Though, Sam would tell her later.

As for Shelly's life, she quit the industry in 1994 and met a man who was the son of a pastor, this man fell in love with her and they'd been married ever since. She had three beautiful daughters, all of which, including the husband, did not at all shun her for that lifestyle. This made Sam _very_ confident about her future and helped her to understand just how good things could become.

Sam looked at Derek and placed her head on his shoulder. Jonah, Valerie and Derek all watched this action curiously. Sam kissed his neck softly and closed her eyes. "I love you, Derek…" He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a soft kiss on her head.

"I love you too, Sam." She sighed contently and decided to sit there for a minute, thinking more about what she and Shelly had talked about. She had been told to not take advantage of how lucky she was to have someone like Derek, and to hang on to him. "You're going to tell your family about the lady that called earlier?" Sam slowly nodded and smiled, she knew her family would approve of her decision to help and to use the military to attend college and become a counselor. "Will you tell Carly and Douglas about the Pink Cross Foundation?"

"They've gone through a lot, that will be too much for them to handle right now. I just want both of them to relax and give it some time." Derek agreed and Sam rose up and took a deep breath once more. "Okay…I'm ready, let's go in." She'd just spotted the front curtains move and knew her family was getting anxious to see her. The group left the car and made their way to the front door, Sam continued holding onto Derek's hand, opting to never let go. What Shelly said, he was her rock, and she needed him. A true person who like that didn't come around very often.

They didn't even get the chance to knock before Melanie opened the door. She was practically glowing. Not only that, but the first thing Sam noticed was Melanie's full grown blonde curls reaching down past her shoulders. "Finally you decided to get out of the car, you guys sat out there for so long!"

"It was only five minutes…"

"Felt like _hours!_" Sam chuckled nervously and Sam quickly took her wrist and pulled her inside. She was elated because she was expecting some big surprise from Freddie. He said he had something for her and no matter how much prodding she gave, he constantly told her that he was not going to tell her until later on. Melanie looked at Sam's left hand and smirked when she saw her clutching Choco. "Still attached to the bunny I see." Her sister gasped and quickly hid the rabbit behind her back. Melanie laughed and gave Sam a quick hug. "It's fine, though."

After the hug, Sam immediately felt the air around her and felt as if she were floating. The sensation of being back in the house was astounding. It had such a pleasant aura and an almost cinnamon like smell. She recognized that from whenever her mother cleaned up the house, she always had potpourri in every room and it always smelled like Christmastime, even in the summer. Sam closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, taking it all in fully. It felt like an eternity since she'd even been there before.

Her lips curled upwards and she eyed the kitchen doorway. Another pleasant smell had been striking her nostrils with euphoria. "Is Mom making lemon chicken?"

"Yeah! Let me go get mom!" Melanie rushed into the kitchen were Freddie, Pam, and David were. They had been discussing the food preparation while waiting for Sam's arrival. They had to do _something_ with their time or they'd go insane! Within minutes, or more a matter of seconds that felt like minutes, Sam saw everybody file out into the living room. She had tears in her eyes as her mother quickly ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her.

"My baby's home!" Pam hugged her closely and looked up to David, who was smiling with pride. He folded his arms over and gazed approvingly at her. She was actually wearing her Air Force uniform, hoping it could generate a positive effect.

"So I guess this means you guys love me again."

David chuckled and lifted an eyebrow. "No one ever said they stopped, Sam. Hell, your mother fully intends to stuff you with food."

"I'm good with that!" Valerie laughed and Sam shot her a quick glare, it was too easy to tease her for her love of food. Jonah shook his head with a smile and Sam turned her eyes back to Melanie. "So glad you decided to let your hair grow out again, Mel. I think I told you that…but yeah, you don't know what it means to me…" Melanie smiled softly and took her sister's hands.

"We're twins, we will always be the same. I'm proud of you for having that ability to rise up, for going into the military, and so on. Of _course _I would go back. Besides, all those men that hit on me, all those catcalls, they all stopped after a while. I think all's well that ends well on that aspect."

"Took her a while to decide on growing her hair out." Melanie flicked her eyes to Freddie and he quickly kissed her. "I think she looks fine either way, but in my honest opinion, I don't think she should have changed her appearance." Granted it was for the better at the time, so people would stop associating her with the porn life, but it was done for the wrong reason. That had always been Freddie's point. "Anyways, let's all sit down around that table in there, I'm hungry, Mel's hungry, everyone's hungry." Sam's face brightened and she quickly sprang into action.

"You know the way to everyone's heart, Freddie!" The other's laughed and followed her into the kitchen. They were shocked to see her already at the table and with a full plate. "Come on guys, hurry up, let's eat." Within a few minutes, everyone was at the table with a full plate of food. Sam was at the back end with Valerie on her right and Derek on her left. Next to Valerie was Jonah, next to Derek was Freddie. Next to Freddie was Melanie and next to Jonah was Pam, then at the head of the table was David. As they started eating, they immediately started talking.

"So Samantha, what is it you want to do with your life from here on out?" David lifted his glass of water to his lips while Sam moved her eyes to her dad, smiling happily. "I know you told us you were going to talk about that when you got back here."

"Yes. I'm going to continue to be in the military, they'll send me in through college where I'm going to get a masters, or a BA in Counseling and minor in Psychology. I want to become a counselor and help girls who are going through what I've been through."

"I see." He lifted his eyebrows and smiled at her, he was very impressed with her answer. Pam and Melanie were impressed as well, their hearts really went out to her when she was suffering, so she definitely knew the pains that others might go through. "You'll really be able to help those girls go through those hard times."

"I hope so. There's another thing, have you ever heard of the woman, Shelly Lubben?" The others had not heard her name before, so they waited for her to explain. "She's an anti porn advocate, a former porn star, who founded this thing called the Pink Cross Foundation and she, along with many other ex porn stars, help to give counsel and other things to people in my situation, porn addicts, or even drug addicts." David lifted his eyebrows once more as he took a bite of his food, he was definitely curious about looking more into who this woman was. The whole thing seemed genuine enough, a good cause. "She contacted me and we talked, it really sounds like a very good thing to involve myself in."

"I agree, if it is something good and something you want to do, we'll back you up."

Pam reached over to her daughter's hand and gave her a smile, causing Sam to smile back at her. "Sam, always follow your heart no matter what. Listen to your heart when you make a decision and you'll never go wrong."

"I will, mom. Thanks."

"We love you, baby. Tell us more about Shelly after dinner?"

"I love you too. And yes, I will do that."

After they took a few more bites, Freddie cleared his throat and grabbed everyone's attention. They watched him stand up and Jonah's lips curled into a large grin. What was he doing? "Melanie, can you come over here please?" She lifted her head back and carefully moved over to him, she was a bit suspicious. David set his silverware down with a chuckle, he and Pam already knew what was going on. They approved.

"What is it, Freddie?"

"Melanie…" He slowly knelt down to his knee and her body froze with anticipation. Sam gasped lightly as Freddie pulled a small box from his pocket and showed it to her twin. Melanie's eyes widened when she saw him open the box, revealing a bright shining ring. "I love you more than anything in this world. We've been through so much together and you've worked my heart in so many ways that I just want to spend my life with you. So, after college, what do you say we get married and start a life together?"

"Oh my god! I…what do I say?" Melanie looked over at Sam, her eyes begging for help. She was stunned, but it was a good feeling. She turned back to Freddie, her eyes filled with wonder. "Yes! I say yes!" Freddie grinned and rose to his feet as Melanie threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. This was the start of a beautiful life together.

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><p>A pleasant little chapter for you. Yes I'm uploading the last three chapters. I'm just tired of this story now, Boris, you understand. I love this story, but it's about time for it to end. I have to work on my other stories XD<p> 


	65. Family Connected

The Red Light

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 65 (A Family Connected)<p>

Carly walked into Spencer's home with Douglas, Alexis, Spencer and Sasha. She had a tearful smile as she eyed the vanilla walls and took in the sweet smell of a fresh, clean home. She turned her eyes to Sasha, who was carrying an identical baby carrier as Carly. Their babies were both sleeping soundly. Despite being free for a few days, this was the first time she had been in Spencer's home. He wanted to surprise the girls by turning his study into a nursery, so he had them stay in an upscale hotel for a couple days. Truth be told, the hotel provided quite a bit of pampering that Carly thoroughly enjoyed, and that was one reason Spencer wanted her to stay there.

When it was just Sasha and himself, they had only one crib and it was for Kevin, there was no need in their mind for a nursery. Now that Carly was here and the guest bedroom would be hers for a few months, Spencer wanted to shoot for the nursery. "Right this way ladies, follow me to the cousins' new bedroom." He grinned widely as everybody started following him. Douglas cleared his throat and folded his arms over.

"You said 'ladies' so what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Ladies and gentlemen form a single file line please." The two men smirked at each other and the women rolled their eyes. Once they made it into the nursery, Sasha let out a quick gasp as she eyed the transformation of the room. Spencer held his hand out as though showing off the room and his eyes had a particular gleam to them.

The room had been painted with a light pink color going up to mix with a light blue color falling from the ceiling. In the far left corner was a net full of stuffed animals and along the side walls were the cribs. One had pink beddings with a toy overhead that had bunny heads and cat heads, the other had blue beddings with an overhead toy bearing rocket ships and stars. The carpeting was a peach mesh with blue circular rugs forming a circular pattern in the center of the brightly lit room. In the middle was a large window with yellow lace curtains tied together at the sides and touching the floor with the ends.

"Spencer, this is beautiful!" Spencer beamed with pride as Sasha and Carly made their ways to the cribs and carefully placed their babies in to them. Douglas stepped next to Spencer and watched the girls with a smile.

"Don't I get brownie points for helping Spencer decorate the room?" The girls, including Alexis, all looked over at the men with astonished faces. They had thought the two men weren't all that close. Alexis chuckled nervously and shook her head.

"Uh oh, that can't have ended well." Douglas gave his sister a sharp and offended look and turned away.

"We certainly don't hate each other, and you can see the finished product, thank you very much." He and Spencer looked at each other with a knowing glance and smirked. The girls just stared at them, confused as to what was going on in their minds.

_Douglas entered the now empty study and found Spencer finishing up the measurements. He and Spencer were both wearing white t-shirts and faded workman's jeans. There were paints, paintbrushes, and the disassembled cribs strewn about the room. "You're a bit late, Douglas."_

_ "Yeah, I was making sure Carly was comfortable at the hotel. She's fine."_

_ "Yeah, well we're supposed to leave the girls alone at the hotel while we work on this, no more distractions." Douglas chuckled and agreed while walking over to the unassembled cribs. "So, shall we get started? Putting these together should be relatively easy."_

_ "Yeah." Douglas picked up a piece that appeared to be the headboard. He tilted his head to the side and looked over to the wall. He would much rather paint than put this crib together, what was easy for Spencer wasn't exactly a perfect piece of work for him. "You're the builder here."_

_ "True. Hey…" Spencer reached over to a six pack of Sam Adams and looked to Douglas. "You're twenty one now, right? Two years older than Carly…" Douglas nodded and looked over as Spencer tossed him a bottle. He let out a surprised shout and caught the bottle in the air. "Let's have a beer before we get started."_

_ "O-Okay…" Douglas took a look at the bottle and pressed his lips tightly together, he'd never actually sat down and had a beer with anyone else. __ Spencer leaned up against the back wall next to the window and leaned his head back. Douglas stepped next to him and uncapped the bottle while Spencer took a sip of his. "You drink much?"_

_ "No, hardly at all. I just figure beer is your typical male bonding time, so whatever." Douglas chuckled nervously and brought the beer to his lips. "You?"_

_ "Not really. I think since turning twenty one I may have had one or two drinks. I don't usually find myself indulging in that kind of stuff." _

_ "Right. And you shouldn't, either. Consider this a one-time thing." Douglas nodded and watched Spencer take another drink, neither of them were interested in telling the women that they were drinking on the job. They would if they had to, though. "You know, I just wanted to say thank you…" _

_ "What for?" Douglas eyed the blue paint can an__d sipped his beer once more. His right foot tapped gently on the floor as he listened to Spencer talk. Spencer's face hardened a bit as he stared at the door frame, he still felt a tremendous guilt over having let Carly go. He knew at that time it had been for the best, that there was no way he could have known what would happen to her, but it didn't stop him at all from feeling like it was somehow his fault._

_ "Bringing my little sister back to me. For showing you actually cared about her. I know…I was probably pretty harsh in my actions-"_

_ "You only did what you thought was best for your family and for your career. No way you could have known what would have happened, and if you did, you wouldn't have let Carly go."_

_ "I know I wouldn't have." The men silently took another sip of their drinks and let out a sharp sigh. What more could be said, honestly? Of everything, they honestly both felt very guilty. Even though both knew it wasn't their fault, and they were going to talk to the counselor about that, they just couldn't stop the self-blame. "You and I, we're going to take good care of Carly."_

_ "Yeah definitely. No way I'm letting another soul harm her."_

_ "I don't think they can hurt her man. But between you and I, there have been times when I considered barreling through that gang myself. So much wasn't being done and so much was being delayed…" _

_ "You saw the news reports on the other day?" Spencer turned his eyes to Douglas and nodded his head. "They managed to somehow cover the whole damned thing. Carly's not going to want Jessica to know about all that when she grows…"_

_ "True, but it might be good if she does know about her mom's history. My dad made the mistake of hiding our mom's past from Carly, and look what happened there." He pushed himself from the wall and knelt beside the boards of the crib. Douglas took another drink of his beer and set it on the windowsill. He moved over to the crib and started to help put it together. _

_ "You think Carly would have stayed out of that whole light if she knew about her mom?"_

_ "I don't know, I think plenty could have been different." The men worked silently for several minutes, putting the crib together and losing themselves both in thought and the work they were doing. When they finished the crib, they were back to taking a beer break. "I trust you with Carly, you know that, right? Just as long as you can keep her away from that lifestyle, I'm happy."_

_ "Glad to hear it. I know I will keep her from falling into that life, but I also don't think she will go back that way. She's been through so much trauma. Do you think I was wrong to go into Iran and try to save your father?"_

_ "Do I? No, but I'm not sure it's safe to even say that. You were deadlocked, you knew if she lost Dad, she'd be really bad off…but you also knew the other end wasn't too pleasant. You did what you thought was right at the time. You could have beat Emilio, but you were taken by surprise."_

_ "Yeah, and I didn't really bother thinking before I leapt in." _

_ "Yeah, but anyway…let's get this room done. Here's to starting a new life and family." _

_ "I'll drink to that." The two clinked their bottles together and drank down the last bit of fluid before continuing on the room. This was truly a moment where they would become like brothers._

"We had a good bonding moment," Spencer stated with a small nod. He turned to Carly and cleared his throat, wanting to say something that had been on the top of his mind lately. "Carly, I've been thinking. I want you to go to college."

"College? Really?" Her eyebrow rose sharply and she pressed her tongue to her cheek. Would she really even be accepted? "But Spencer, after the things I've done, what-"

"I want you to go to college at Seattle University, they will let you enroll there. If they don't, they'll have a suit thrown against them." Everyone stared at Spencer for a small moment, then began smiling with approval. How great it must be to have a brother with the legal power to scare the living hell out of executives and make them do whatever they wanted done. "Do you think you will?" She didn't have to think much on her answer, she really wanted to go to college and to make herself into something important.

"Y-Yeah, I'd love to go to school. I have no idea what I'll do, but I'll think of something I _can _do."

"Great!" There was no harm in trying, no foul in moving on with their lives. Spencer was going to make damn sure nobody overlooked his little sister because of her past. As time passed on, they started to celebrate the nursery with some movies and other fun house festivities. Carly couldn't help but to grin, as she finally felt like a family, and that was the most important aspect of all.

* * *

><p>What an end, what an end, but they'll still have to go through counseling. I was going to do an arc for that, but I think it wouldn't be so necessary. Epilogue's up next.<p> 


	66. Epilogue: Sixteen Years Ago

Red Light

A/N:

Chapter 66 (Epilogue: "Sixteen Years Ago")

"I'm running out of breath, Uncle Doug!" Cried the voice of a sixteen year old boy who was attempting to climb a rock fixture with his uncle and cousin, his uncle looked back with a smirk and his cousin stared down from above the two. Jessica Madison and Kevin Shay, the two were on a hiking trek with Douglas, who had decided to take his family camping out to the country. Carly was at the bottom of the large mountain, gazing up at her daughter as her husband coaxed their nephew onwards. With her was a seven year old boy who was growing to look just like his father, and a four year old girl with surprisingly light hair. Jessica's hazel eyes peered past her tan cheeks and through the dark hair being blown into her face by the wind, she smiled upon her mother and siblings, then waved to them.

"Mom look, I made it all the way to the top!" She saw Carly's eyes flash with pride as her father looked up to her with a smile. He and Kevin only had a few more feet before reaching the top. "Hey mom, you, Steven and Angelica look like ants from up here!" She jumped up with excitement and laughed with great jubilee. Carly lifted her hand to her mouth and called out to her.

"Be careful! I don't want you to fall!"

"It's okay," Douglas replied back with a shout. "If she does, I'll just catch her." He smirked and Carly slowly shook her head. Jessica laughed and turned around to face the sunset, she placed her hands onto her hips and breathed out slowly as the wind blew her hair behind her. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes as she spread her arms out wide. The breeze felt cool against her and seemed to soothe the raging adrenaline inside of her. She'd always been active and was actually being taught by her aunt Alexis some essential martial arts moves. She always felt it was good to learn self defense, but she never quite understood the reason for it. It could have had something to do with those constant dreams she had growing up.

Her breathing lowered and she continued to gaze off in an intense silent. It was funny, she was more agile than her father was these days. He did have a bit of a limp and a scar or two, probably from an old battle. Unlike Steven and Angelica below, she knew about her parents and their past, or at least the surface of it. Through the dreams that she had of herself as a baby, she was certain there was something more that she was missing. Did she really want to know?

Her stomach rumbled inside of her as she closed her eyes and slowly breathed in through her nose. In nightmares when she was young, she would often hear her mother weeping bitterly. She would scream out and cry for her mother, unable to do anything for her. Then, she would dream of her mother screaming, a scream that shook her very soul and seemed to rip through the skies. Many nights, Jessica would awaken from these dreams soaked in sweat and panting heavily. She would then search out her parents and sleep with them, clutching her mother as if there was no other lifeline, as though if she didn't clutch her for dear life, then she would lose her forever.

Sometimes in her dreams, there would be this shadow of pure evil, it just radiated with hatred. If she found herself staring at it for too long, she would begin to feel a sense of panic, of terror, something that her mother had surely felt whenever this shadow was around.

She turned her head as Douglas made it to the top and helped Kevin up. Kevin was not athletic like his mother was, but he was a fantastic painter. His hair was often in front of his eyes and his body structure was thin. He put his hands to his knees and breathed heavily. Jessica smirked and folded her arms over. "Come on Kevin, be a man for us. I know you can do it." Kevin rolled his eyes and Douglas laughed. She watched as her father peered over the edge and alerted Carly that everyone made it without any trouble. "Hey Dad, look at this sky."

"The sky?" He looked out and smiled as Kevin stood and walked next to Jessica. Douglas pulled out his camera and pointed it towards the sky, he promised Carly several pictures. She wanted to blow up the photos and put them around her classroom, she was an assistant principal at Ridgeway. Mr. Franklin had reluctantly hired her on as a teacher ten years ago, since then, she'd been promoted. The kind principal would be retiring in a few years and Carly had proven herself to be most suited to replace him. Mrs. Briggs and Mr. Howard had long since retired, so she didn't have any trouble returning to the school. Douglas had been a doctor for several years now and he was loving the career field. He'd already been hailed a hero for his actions in destroying the gang sixteen years ago, so nobody had any qualms with him practicing medicine.

"Are you getting any good pictures up there?" Carly's voice echoed upwards as Douglas snapped a photo of the brilliantly painted sky. It seemed a peach color with almost pink clouds and open fields below them. It was one of the most beautiful sights he'd seen in a long time. He glanced over his shoulder and called back to her.

"Yep, you're going to enjoy these!" Their relationship started out rough, as it was difficult for them to actually be intimate with one another for a while. A few years of therapy and college, their issues became straightened out. They tried having sex in their final year of college, it was hard for them to enjoy it. After a couple years, they were becoming more and more comfortable, they made it through a miscarriage, which was hard to endure, but by the time Carly was 27, she was pregnant with their second child. Her children were her world, nobody could take that away from her.

"Hey dad?" Douglas lifted his eyebrow and looked at Jessica with a smile. She hugged him and closed her eyes, he was her hero in so many ways. He was protective too, but she actually preferred that. He had every right and reason to be, with all the things that had happened in his past. "I love you."

"I love you too, so what do you want?" He responded in a joking manner and turned his camera to his daughter, he'd since become obsessed with taking pictures of every moment his family had. He wanted to treasure everything.

"Nothing…I just wanted to say that." She took a step back and smiled as Kevin quickly got into the picture. She watched her father with her heart rising up in her chest. Some would say he was overly protective, but she didn't think so. She had a boyfriend, but the relationship ended a month ago. The kid wanted to have sex with her and film it so they could put it on the internet, she refused after a brief argument. When Douglas got wind of it, he marched over, and smacked the kid around like a punching bag. Needless to say, the guy never bothered her again.

After several minutes, they were scaling down the mountainous rock, and Jessica was ahead of them already. Once she stepped her feet on the ground, she rushed over to Carly, grinning with pride. Carly put her hand above her eyes and watched her husband and nephew descending. "You know, your father I understand, but Kevin? Spencer's agile as ever, you'd think his own son would be just as agile." Jessica laughed and Carly turned to her, giving her a hug. "Was it beautiful?"

"It was! Here, Dad gave me the camera to give to you." She pulled the camera from her pocket and began showing the photos to her mother. Carly's eyebrows rose and a smile formed at her lips as she eyed the scenery in the photos.

"Breathtaking." Carly lived for photos like that, she loved photography and was actually working her second job as a freelance photographer. It was a hobby and the freelancing provided her with the time to focus on her main career. "Great job honey."

"Don't thank me, Dad's the one that took the photos."

"Right." Carly turned her gaze into the distance where there were some Hispanic workers cutting the grass. One of them was on a riding mower, had a grey muscle shirt with dark blue jeans and a red, skull bandana on his head. For a split second, Carlos flashed into her mind. She shrugged the memory away and looked up at Douglas. "Hey Douglas, can we get a move on? I'd like to go soon!"

"I'm working on it, dear!" She laughed and began walking towards the car. Jessica followed after her and the kids continued watching their dad and cousin descend.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

"What's that?"

"You remember those nightmares I had growing up?" Carly's brow furrowed a bit and she slowly nodded her head. "I still have those dreams on occasion. I know you told me once that it all really happened and stuff, where was Dad during that time?" Carly pressed her lips together and gazed at the mountainside. She sighed and folded her arms over. "I don't mean to bring up any bad memories…"

"You're not, sweetie. That happened so long ago, it's easy to just push it all out now." Jessica nodded her head with understanding and leaned back against the car as her mother continued on. "Your father was overseas. He was trying to save your grandfather from an assassin that Carlos had sent after him…" Jessica recognized the name as the man who held her mother and forced her to remain in that gang. For a moment, when she was younger, she thought Carlos might have been her father, but he wasn't. She had been immensely grateful for that. "Your father was nearly killed, but the Iranians took him, nursed him back, and held him as a hostage for several months. Sam and Derek had been sent on the mission to retrieve the hostage, not knowing it was your father. Sam's the one that saved her."

"Sam?" Jessica could hardly remember her that well. The woman moved away when she was just eight years old, the military transferred Derek to Texas, and Sam was able to have a better opportunity in her counseling career there. Sam and Carly still spoke regularly enough through webcam chat, but even still, it wasn't a lot of time that they talked. "Do you ever wish she were here instead of there?"

"Every day. I miss her, she was my best friend and the one who really helped me out of that depression I was in."

"Didn't their friends transfer down there too?"

"Yep, lucky them, Derek and Jonah both got transferred at the same time to the same base. Maybe I should talk to your father about moving to Texas, huh?" She laughed as Jessica's eyes widened, she couldn't envision leaving their home.

"No thanks, I like where we're at just fine."

Several miles away, Sam sat in her office, waiting on the young girl who had recently become a client of hers. On her desk was a photo of her entire family at the family reunion they'd had five years ago. She missed them. Melanie and Freddie were still in Seattle, which was a bit depressing for Jonah. However, Sam wanted Valerie to be around, but she knew Jonah was likely getting another transfer back to Seattle within a year or two. Maybe Derek would too.

Her mom was doing well, she wasn't as stressed out about things. David had become the Police Chief of Seattle just four years ago, so props to him. Erica had worked with her family and stopped being so stuck up, she never really got over how she almost turned the entire family against Sam. Aunt Isabel was doing well, she visited her son and husband in prison every other day. Greg would be eligible for parole in another year, unfortunately Carmine would not be eligible.

Another photo on her desk was of a ten year old boy and an eight year old girl, her two children. She never wanted to burden them with her past, but never really thought about it all that much. What would they do if they grew up and discovered she'd once been a porn star? She'd just have to explain it to them.

She'd shown them the videos of iCarly from when she was much younger, they loved them. They couldn't really remember Carly, but always wanted to meet her. As for Freddie, he was their uncle, so they'd met him multiple times on family trips Melanie took to them whenever she got the chance.

Sam's mind pulled back to reality as she saw her client walking in. She smiled softly and pulled her eyes to the young girl. She had soft brown hair reaching the tops of her shoulders, a somewhat baggy t-shirt and short jeans going just over her knees. She looked to be about nineteen years old. "Hello Tiffany, have a seat."

"Okay…" The girl sat down in the chair in front of the desk and took a deep breath. She reminded Sam of Carly, considering what she'd learned of Tiffany. The girl had been involved in some gang that wouldn't let her go, so all the fear and the pain she'd been going through was exactly like Carly's had been sixteen years ago. "So what is there to talk about now?"

"Well tell me about your week. Did my suggestions work?" Tiffany bit her lip and looked off to the side. Sam's suggestions were for her to see if there was any way of her getting out of the gang safely, perhaps by calling the police. Sam frowned slightly and shook her head. "Tiffany, you have to get out of that situation."

"I know, and I will." The girl's eyes flew to Sam's and she gave a quick, determined nod. "I managed to call my mom and dad, let them know where I was. They said the police were with them and they were going to try to get me out."

"Do you believe they will?"

"I do…I miss them." Sam rose from her seat and walked over to the girl as Tiffany let a tear drip from her eyes. She gave her a comforting hug and smiled at her.

"Good, always have faith in your family. When it all comes down to it, they really will do anything to get you back." Tiffany smiled heartily as Sam looked to her family photos. Her heart rose up and her eyes closed as she thought back to sixteen years ago and how her family had been there for her when she got out of that life, and how Spencer did all he could to get his little sister back. It would seem, family was indeed the strongest bond.

Now with how successful Spencer was as a judge, how well off Sam, Carly, Freddie, and everyone else were, it seemed sixteen years ago was just a thing of the past. A far distant memory that no longer haunted a soul. Finally, peace was achieved.

"Samantha? Could you tell me about your experience?" Sam raised her eyebrow and sat down in the chair next to Tiffany, then turned it to face her. Tiffany looked at her and took a deep breath. "I know last time, you said you and a friend had a similar experience, and I was thinking…if you didn't mind talking about it, that it could help me…to see how you got out of it?" Sam closed her eyes and overlapped her hands on her lap. She nodded and let the memories come flooding back to her, but they were no longer painful. There was no reason for them to be anymore.

"I understand, and I agree. It isn't a problem, I'll tell you our experience. It was mostly my friend who shared the similar experience, but I was involved in the same basic lifestyle. Sixteen years ago really seems like a long time ago…"


	67. ALERT-RED LiGHT CONTINUATION

I want to give you all an alert here. Red Light is semi-continuing. "Red Light Deux", I've posted the first two chapters, chronicles Sam's first "patient/client" as she enters into counseling. Essentially her first client is someone that shares some of her own struggles, so it's a push for her to help this girl. Those of you who have followed this story a couple years ago, I hope you will give the second run a shot as well (find it on my profile).

It has been a few years, and I'm more educated and have been doing more research in the line of psychology, sociology, and so on-so this second run is going to be definitely more realistic-but also in Sam's perspective mainly, which means we're seeing her thoughts, feelings and emotions about the subject rather than her patient-though we will know that person's struggle as well.

Realism being stated, I do not intend to let it veer off into any high drama thing (The situation in itself has plenty of drama) so what you saw in the latter half of "Red Light" will not be happening in Red Light Deux (I went with Deux, by the way, because it's french for "two", sounds better than two, I usually write Sam as being of French descent, _and_ unless I'm mistaken I believe Moulin Rouge was based in French-and I do so enjoy that film). Also this story should be better written.

I think you'll enjoy it, but be sure to give it a chance and check it out. (You may have to skim through Red Light to remember certain things, but it also isn't necessary for you to remember everything from this story-most anything important in Sam's past will be discussed throughout Deux by way of memories, emotions, and conversation) There's no time for romance in this-and since most of you have read the epilogue, you know where it ends up. In Deux, Derek remains overseas, maintaining contact with Sam through letters and phone calls. If there is to be romance, it will involve Sam's client possibly finding someone that can be okay with what the girl's path has been. Obviously since that is a big part of recovery, it will likely happen. Just expect that the story is ideally about salvation, recovery and healing from addiction and a life in the sex industry. A tender subject of course, still one which I will be continuing research on.

What really helps is my major in Criminal Justice deals a lot with psychology. Hope to see you guys there.


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